RI House Republican FY27 Budget Amendment - Changes to the Renewable Energy Standard

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Rising energy costs are one of the biggest financial pressures facing Rhode Island families today. Rhode Island’s consumer electricity costs are among the highest in the country, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration and this is only made worse by mandates hidden in ratepayer bills to cover public policy and renewable energy initiatives. With the cost of nearly everything on the rise, utility bills are quickly becoming just one more monthly burden that many households are struggling to absorb.

This is why House Republicans support the Governor’s proposed changes to the Renewable Energy Standard; ratepayers need relief and many Rhode Islanders are being pushed to the limit.

This past year, at Public Utilities Commission hearings and before the House Committee on Corporations, Rhode Islanders spoke out about the real impact of rising electric bills. Some said they were caught off guard by recent increases. Others worried about future rate hikes. Many described having to make difficult choices in their household budgets just to keep up with day-to-day expenses. With summer already here, electricity usage is on the rise, and many households will soon feel these costs even more.
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By extending the compliance timeline for the Renewable Energy Standard and directing additional funding towards rate relief, this amendment proposed by House Republicans, helps to lift some of the burden off Rhode Islanders. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, energy policy must put ratepayers first.

Rep Paul Santucci, Renewable Energy Standard Amendment Sponsor Statement:
It’s not complicated – every single Rhode Islander right now is feeling the pain of constantly climbing electricity prices. We are making people’s lives worse by pushing unrealistic energy mandates on them without any consideration for the financial burden it creates. This amendment is a measured and deliberate effort to bring relief to people struggling to pay their bills. This is a kitchen table issue that affects households, businesses and municipalities. This is a vote for common sense for the common good.

Leader Chippendale statement on proposed changes to the Renewable Energy Standard:
Rhode Islanders are being crushed by electric bills, and too many people in this building are more interested in protecting a radical climate agenda than protecting seniors, working families, and small businesses from unaffordable energy costs.
 
This amendment would have brought Rhode Island’s renewable energy standard back to the schedule originally approved by the General Assembly in 2022, requiring 100% renewable electricity by 2050 rather than forcing an accelerated 2033 mandate onto ratepayers. It also would have required Public Utilities Commission review to ensure there is no conflict with the state’s existing renewable energy framework and directed savings back to residential customers through bill credits.
 
According to the Office of Management and Budget, this amendment was projected to generate approximately $53.4 million in ratepayer savings in 2027 and approximately $528.3 million in savings from 2027 through 2031.
 
That is not theoretical relief. That is real money back in the pockets of people who are being punished by ideological energy policy.
 
Every week, we hear speeches about affordability. But when given the chance to reduce electric bills for Rhode Islanders, the majority refused to act. Seniors on fixed incomes, working families, and small businesses do not need more climate virtue signaling from Smith Hill. They need relief from bills that keep climbing because of decisions made by politicians who seem immune to the cost of their own mandates.
 
This amendment did not abandon renewable energy. It restored a more responsible timeline, required regulatory review, and returned savings to ratepayers. That should have been common sense.
 
Instead, ideological blindness won again. Too many of my colleagues chose the radical climate lobby over the people who pay the bills. Rhode Islanders deserve energy policy that is affordable, reliable, and honest - not another expensive mandate dressed up as moral superiority

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​​​The 2026 Rhode Island House Minority (Republican) Caucus is comprised of the following elected members: Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale, District 40 (Foster/Glocester/Coventry); Minority Whip David J. Place, District 47 (Burrillville/Glocester); Representative George Nardone, District 28 (Coventry); Representative Brian Newberry, District 48 (North Smithfield/Burrillville); Representative Robert Quattrocchi, District 41 (Scituate/Cranston); Representative Sherry Roberts, District 29 (Coventry/West Greenwich); Representative Richard Fascia, District 42 (Johnston/Cranston); Representative Marie Hopkins, District 21 (Warwick); Representative Chris Paplauskas, District 15 (Cranston); Representative Paul Santucci, District 53 (Smithfield/Glocester).

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