MONCKS CORNER — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley accused the Biden administration of unfairly “picking winners and losers” with its energy policies, suggesting American families will get stuck with higher utility bills because of it.
“They’re picking what kind of energy they think is best for Americans,” Haley said as she lambasted the EPA’s timeline for power companies to shift away from fossil fuels.
“Do we want renewables? Sure we do, but we want to make sure we have every other type of energy possible,” she added.
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, made the comments June 19 speaking to more than 250 people on the campus of the Berkeley County Electric Cooperative.
It was her fourth campaign stop in South Carolina since launching her presidential bid in February.
Rain fell and the rumble of distant thunder could be heard while Haley addressed the crowd inside an oversized garage. As a Kiawah Island resident, Haley is also a paying member of the electric cooperative.
The event was billed as a town hall but the only questions Haley took came from three local energy executives: Mike Fuller, president and CEO of Berkeley Electric Cooperative; Jimmy Staton, president and CEO of Santee Cooper; and Rob Hochstetler, president and CEO of Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc.
Haley has previously said she would “roll back Biden’s wasteful green energy subsidies and regulations” but in this appearance she focused more on the energy producers seated next to her onstage and the impact new EPA rules could have on their customers.
She also praised the role the electric cooperatives in the state have played in the past, particularly during natural disasters.
“When we had hurricanes, when we had that 1,000-year-flood when we had any of those issues, y’all were incredible partners with us,” Haley said as the rain outside poured down harder.
Haley later told the crowd to applause, “Stop demonizing energy producers. They’re the ones that save us.”
Haley’s comments come as she is making her pitch for an energy-independent America a bigger part of her presidential campaign. Earlier this month, she traveled to Midland, Texas, where she toured an oil rig and delivered a speech stressing the need for an all-of-the-above approach to energy production in America.
According to a news release from the Berkeley County Electric Cooperative, nearly 60 percent of South Carolina’s energy production currently relies on fossil fuels.
Staton, the president and CEO of Santee Cooper, said the state-owned electric and water utility is trying to “address the growth and the fact that we need to ‘green up’ our energy infrastructure.”
But he expressed concerns about federal regulations, particularly the timeline to eliminate fossil fuels as a form of energy generation in the U.S. by 2035, saying it “scares us a bit.”
In addition to talking energy policy, Haley sought to remind voters in her home-state about her biography and connections to South Carolina.
She beamed when a few hands shot up into the air after she asked the crowd if they had heard of Bamberg, South Carolina — her hometown.
She also urged attendees to not get complacent as the Republican 2024 presidential primary heats up.
Former President Donald Trump is the early frontrunner in the crowded race. His greatest challenger, so far, is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In what could be viewed as a swipe at both, Haley said, “No more negativity. No more chaos. No more of all the drama that goes with it. We’ve got a country to save, but in order to save her it’s going to take a lot of courage.”
Then she warned, “Don’t complain about what you get in a general election if you don’t get involved in this primary. It matters.”
The South Carolina presidential primary is set for Feb. 24.