Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is facing backlash over a proposal to roll back clean energy incentives in the name of affordability — a move critics say could lower bills briefly while locking families into higher, more unstable energy costs long-term.
What’s happening?
According to the Rhode Island Current, McKee’s fiscal 2027 budget proposes rolling back key clean energy incentives, including a major change to the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. That law, passed in 2022 and previously championed by McKee, requires Rhode Island to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2033.
Under the proposal, more than half of the roughly $1 billion in projected savings for energy customers would come from pushing Rhode Island’s 100% renewable electricity deadline back 17 years, from 2033 to 2050 — a change expected to cut $64 million from bills in 2027 and $572 million over the next five years, according to the state Office of Management and Budget.
Tina Munter, a policy advocate with the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, called the plan “mind-boggling.”…