In recent years, especially under the Biden administration, there has been an unprecedented attack on the supply of reliable and affordable energy, from reducing oil and gas lease sales to the administration’s efforts to shift from reliable electricity sources to renewable energy sources. The partisan Inflation Reduction Act is a central piece of the harmful electrification effort that will undermine the electricity grid. If all of this was not bad enough, there are also governmental efforts to limit Americans from using reliable and affordable energy, such as efforts to severely limit the availability of gas-powered vehicles and bans on natural gas appliances.
Ensuring abundant, reliable, and affordable energy is a must, as is consumer freedom when it comes to energy. The Competitive Enterprise Institute advocates for policies to keep energy abundant, affordable, and competitive. Carbon fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—provide about 80 percent of U.S. and global energy. They are the world’s dominant energy sources because, in most markets, they beat the alternatives in both cost and performance.
CEI is leading efforts to defend the personal energy choices of Americans. We advocate for policies that will stop government at all levels from banning or restricting what good and services Americans can choose to best meet their needs.
For decades, CEI has opposed regulatory overreach from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies that put undue costs on energy industries and consumers. These include President Biden’s new power plant rule, the “Blackout Plan,” which would ignore the major questions problems detailed in West Virginia v. EPA, increase consumer electricity prices, and threaten grid reliability. CEI’s research and policy proposals have been instrumental on energy issues.
Featured Posts

News Release
Trump executive order restores consumer choice for home appliances
In 2018, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to adopt regulations allowing dishwashers that complete a full cycle…

Blog
Why IRA energy subsidies should be dismantled: A guide
Why IRA energy subsidies should be dismantled A guideDownload…
Reason
The Case for Eliminating Energy Star
Reason cited CEI’s expert on the EPA A March white paper from the Competitive Enterprise Institute on modernizing the EPA says “green purchasing programs” like Energy…
Search Posts
Denver Post
PUC to Review Xcel Plan
Denver Post
Push Continues to let Ethanol Subsidies Expire Despite oil Subsidy Mountain
Study
Colorado’s Clean Air Clean Jobs Act Will Accomplish Neither
Government Officials and Special Interests Pushed HB 1365 on a Foundation of Fallacies…
Denver Post
Should Ethanol Subsidies Be Gone (With the Wind)?
News Release
Ethanol + Wind Power = #Fail
Washington, D.C., October 26, 2010 — Ethanol subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, and, so far, American taxpayers have wasted…
Study
Is Wind the Next Ethanol?
One “Renewable” Energy Source Follows another’s History of Failure…
News Release
Obama’s Truck Regulations Are Another Torpedo To US Economy
Washington, D.C., October 25, 2010 — As part of the Obama Administration’s ill-conceived energy-rationing campaign, today the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to target heavy-duty…
National Review
Obama’s Tax Cut for Rich Oil Companies
National Review
Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Champions Renewable Fuel Standards
National Review
An Appeal to End Ethanol Tariffs, Subsidies
National Review
Biofuel or Bust? Ethanol Subsidies Should be Dropped
The long struggle to make ethanol a viable and relevant auto fuel in America got a boost recently from the Environmental Protection Agency, but allowing…
National Review
Ben Lieberman on consumer costs of regulations
CEI Senior Fellow in Environmental Policy Ben Lieberman explains how new environmental regulations for household appliances will end up costing consumers more money. These increased…
National Review
Browse More Videos Ben Lieberman on Government Regulations
Senior Fellow in Environmental Policy Ben Lieberman discusses the extent of federal regulations in our daily lives.
Kiowa County Signal
CFL bulbs kills U.S. jobs
Kiowa County Signal
Chris Horner on Overestimation of Emissions
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses how miscalculated emissions figures were used to…
Kiowa County Signal
Chris Horner on Overestimation of Emissions
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses how miscalculated emissions figures were used to justify pollution regulations in…
NCPA
GE Closes Last Incandescent Light Bulb Plant, Jobs Sent to China
State Journal Register
Illinois Must Get Out of Regional Cap-and-Trade
State Journal Register
China Winning Renewable Energy Race
Study
Cap-and-Trade Schemes are Not Markets
Cap-and-trade supporters are trying to get Republican lawmakers on board a new cap-and-trade policy, this time it's "market-based."…
Study
Colorado’s Great Green Deception
If HB 1001Seems too Good to Be True, It’s Because It Is…
Kiowa County Signal
The Lights Go Out on 200 Jobs and an Era
Newsletter
Stimulus, Tax Reform, and Incandescent Light Bulbs
Hans Bader points out that, according to the CBO, the stimulus will shrink the economy "in the long run." Chris Horner explains why this new…
Newsletter
Bailouts, Wind Energy, and Credit Card Regulation
Hans Bader argues that the new bailout makes responsible citizens "Suckers." Myron Ebell thinks it is doubtful that wind farms will survive Hurricane Earl. John…
Kiowa County Signal
Christie’s at Sea With That Windmill Scheme
Kiowa County Signal
Chris Horner discusses new car stickers
Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses the government's proposal to grade cars and have a sticker displaying the grade.
Kiowa County Signal
No More Ethanol for America, Please
In “Ethanol for America,” Jim Nussle accuses opponents of subsidized ethanol of misleading the public, while trumpeting ethanol’s alleged success story. As is the case…
Kiowa County Signal
China, Economic Growth, and “Green Jobs”
The news about China overtaking Japan as the world’s second-largest economy is actually quite relevant to the US climate and energy policy debate, which…
Kiowa County Signal
Myron Ebell Debates Whether the Government Should Subsidize Energy
CEI Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell comments on the move for the government to pick winners and losers in the energy industry.
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Offshore Drilling and the Complexity of Obamacare
The House Financial Services Committee passes the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. Today the House of Representatives will vote on an energy…
News Release
House to Vote on Oil Spill Bill
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2010—Today the House of Representatives will vote on an energy bill to address BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The bill,…
News Release
Senate Plan to Prevent Oil Spill Should Eliminate Government Cap on Liability
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2010—The Senate is preparing to vote next week on a bill aimed at preventing future BP-style oil spills—a plan that could…
News Release
EPA Refuses to Reconsider Harmful Energy Regulations
Washington, D.C., July 30, 2010 – The EPA Thursday rejected petitions to reconsider the agency’s move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a “public endangerment”…
Study
Who Should Pay for the Gulf Oil Spill?
Liability and Incentive Issues Raised by the Deepwater Horizon Incident…
Kiowa County Signal
Chris Horner on the Politics of Cap and Trade
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner debates the politics and economics of a cap and trade scheme for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Washington Post
BG&E’s Smart Grid Program Faces another Regulatory Hurdle
Newsletter
Financial Regulation, the Gulf Oil Spill, and Privacy on Facebook
Congress passes the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill. The New York Times chronicles the economic fallout from the BP oil spill. Pundits argue that Facebook is…
Newsletter
Law School, Air Conditioning and Media Criticism
Elizabeth Wurtzel, of the Brennan Center for Justice, makes the case for abolishing the bar exam for law students. Author Stan Cox argues against the…
Denver Daily News
Markets Should Drive Xcel, Not Social Values
Xcel Energy is getting a lot of grief over its new “tiered” rate increase Ń a.k.a., the air-conditioner tax Ń but the criticism is…
Newsletter
EPA’s Gangster Style, LibertyWeek Turns 100 and Comparing BP to Enron
The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gain the auto industry’s support for new fuel economy standards. The LibertyWeek podcast records…
Baltimore Sun
Maryland’s Smart Grid Fiasco
Last month, the Public Service Commission rejected Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.'s "smart grid" proposal. From start to finish, the whole affair demonstrated everything that…
Newsletter
Regulating Strippers, Blowout Prevention and Kagan’s Hearings
Missouri enacts “anti-stripper” legislation placing new restrictions on adult entertainment establishments. The House of Representatives holds a hearing on the Blowout Prevention Act. Elena Kagan’s…
Newsletter
A Supreme Court Win, a New Push for Free Trade and the Pentagon’s Biofuels Boondoggle
CEI scores a Supreme Court victory in the case of Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. President Obama is getting ready to…
Newsletter
Climate Skeptics, The Case Against Cap and Trade and Oil Spill Red Tape
The National Academy of Sciences recently published a report attacking the credentials of climate change skeptics. The Gulf oil spill has…
Newsletter
Elena Kagan, Five Years of Kelo and Offshore Oil Drilling
More details about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan come to light. Today is the 5-year anniversary of the landmark property rights decision in the case…
Baltimore Sun
Obama Uses Oil Spill to Push Failed Energy Policies
In his speech, President Obama used the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to push his failed energy policies, such as…
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Orcs on Wall Street and the Chimera of Green Jobs
Congress continues to discuss a plan that would legalize online gambling in all fifty states. The government is on the prowl…
Baltimore Sun
Obama’s Actions Prevent Timely Clean-Up By U.S. Allies
Crucial offers to help clean up BP’s oil spill “have come from Belgian, Dutch, and Norwegian firms that … possess some of the world’s most…
Baltimore Sun
Obama Blocks Louisiana, Foreign Allies from Oil Spill Clean-Up
The Obama Administration recently used red tape to force Louisiana to stop using 16 barges that were cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico…
Baltimore Sun
Chris Horner on Obama Energy Policy
CEI's Senior Fellow Chris Horner explains the problems with President Obama's energy policies.
Staff & Scholars

Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance

Paige Lambermont
Research Fellow
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy

Jacob Tomasulo
Policy Analyst
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment