Romney’s energy plan: Less regulation, more exploration
Stacey Vanek Smith: The presidential race is heating up and this morning President Barack Obama’s campaign announced it’s going to start taking campaign donations via text message. The campaign is hammering out the details with Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Meanwhile, later today, GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will officially unveil his energy plan at a campaign stop in New Mexico.
Marketplace’s Mark Garrison reports on what it could mean.
Mark Garrison: You don’t need to wait for the speech to hear Romney’s energy philosophy. In short, he wants less regulation and more energy exploration. If elected president, though, he still won’t control all the levers of power.
Lauren O’Neil tracks policy for Energy Intelligence Group.
Lauren O’Neil: When candidates make promises, not all of them can be achieved if they can’t get the support of Congress. But two areas where they can make a difference on their own is through the Interior Department and the EPA.
Even without Congress, a Romney Interior Department could clear new oil and gas drilling from Alaska to the Atlantic. And a Romney-run EPA could soften or delay environmental rule enforcement. But don’t expect to feel the impact in your wallet.
Doug Reynolds is an energy economist at University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Doug Reynolds: I doubt there’ll be much change. You’re not gonna change the price of oil.
That will still rise and fall with global markets. There’s not enough oil in America to stop that. And electricity prices won’t move much because natural gas is already pretty cheap.
I’m Mark Garrison for Marketplace.
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