A Tale of Two Types of States: Those with Dumb Energy Laws, and Those with Smart Laws

“It was the best of energy policies; it was the worst of energy policies” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. (Apocryphal) Higher electricity prices and a lack of cheap energy are in the news. Even before the start of the Iran war, consumers over the winter of 2025-2026 experienced some of the highest energy prices on record, especially electricity consumers in the Northeast and New England. A recent report by the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, America’s largest voluntary membership organization for state legislators, shows the problem lies in local politics, not supply and demand. When...