They haven’t gone into effect yet, but Congressman August Pfluger wants to make sure the methane fees, included in the inflation-mitigating law signed last year, never materialize.
The Republican, who represents District 11 of Texas, which includes much of the Permian Basin, introduced HR 484, the Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act, to amend the fee in what he called the “Inflation ‘Expansion’ Act.” reduce. He said new fees for taxes on energy companies would increase costs for customers and create a burden that would hit lower-income Americans hardest.
“President Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels – and the resulting actions to cripple America’s energy industry – are hurting American families. I’m proud to be championing the Permian Basin by introducing legislation against the president’s new harmful natural gas tax, which will skyrocket household energy bills and exacerbate inflation,” Pfluger said in a statement.
Its legislation is supported by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) Life:Powered Project.
Ben Shepperd, President of the PBPA, said in a statement: “Congressman Pfluger continues to fight for the American people, the American economy and American energy security. Global demand for natural gas continues to grow, and the American people, our economy, and even the world’s environment are better off when domestic natural gas production is supported by those in Washington, DC.
Jason Isaac, Director of Life:Powered at TPPF added, “Life:Powered commends Rep. Pfluger for his efforts to repeal the methane tax introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act. 32% of Americans have late paid an electric bill in the last six months, and the imposition of a methane tax couldn’t come at a worse time. Repealing this pesky tax on heating and stovetops will prevent further unnecessary costs being imposed on Americans struggling to make ends meet.”
Under the legislation signed last August, the methane fee would be imposed on oil and natural gas facilities that are already subject to reporting of greenhouse gas emissions under the Environmental Protection Agency’s reporting rules. It would apply to applicable plants – including onshore oil and gas production, gathering and boosting, natural gas processing, transmission compression and transmission lines. It would be applied to installations reporting more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. The law requires EPA to revise its Subpart W reporting requirements within two years to ensure that reported emissions are based on empirical data and accurately reflect total methane emissions and waste emissions. Fees will start at $900 per tonne in 2024 and increase to $1,500 in early 2026.
Enverus Intelligence Research, part of energy-focused software-as-a-service company Enverus, said in a report earlier this month that the fee’s impact on the industry is expected to be minimal as most oil and natural gas operators are below the threshold beforehand The implementation date of 2025 will fall, based on the data from 2024.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/7Q6Q5P4APJH2TJZZWWYELUWSKI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/3YTFKITPXFGB5AZ2DZ2LPF5KHM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/J4WA7JHJBRFMTM4RPSY2X33IIQ.jpg)
