State Representative Pauline Wendzel is teasing some new energy legislation soon to come from House Republicans as she criticizes a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel against several oil producers.
In the suit filed on Friday, Nessel seeks unspecified damages from BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and lobbying group American Petroleum Institute for alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Wenzel, chair of the House Energy Committee, calls Nessel’s action “pandering” to renewable energy interests. She tells us fossil fuels are a reality and the lifeblood of the global economy.
“Look at what we’ve all been through the last few days,” Wendzel said. “It’s no newsflash — without natural gas, our entire region would have been in the dark yesterday and for most of this weekend, and the grid would have collapsed. It’s a needed resource, and what she’s doing right now is just, I think, very shameful and unnecessary.”
Wendzel says Democrats in Lansing have been leading Michigan down the wrong energy path, pushing policies that harm affordability and reliability. She says Republicans will soon have a proposal of their own.
“We’ve been working for a couple years now, and now that I hold the gavel, Republicans hold the gavel, and the House at least, we’re looking at fixing some of the mistakes that have been made in the last couple years as far as energy and energy reliability goes.”
Wendzel says green energy mandates approved by Democrats in 2023 have been pushing up prices. She promises Republicans are working to reverse those actions.
Nessel’s lawsuit against the oil companies alleges they’ve been acting as a cartel to prevent meaningful competition from renewable energy in the Michigan market. Wendzel says Nessel is wasting taxpayer money on an “obscene amount of lawsuits.”
