The Independent Fiscal Office estimates drillers owe $174 million in impact fees for 2023.
By Rachel McDevitt/StateImpact Pennsylvania The new high comes two years after the record low amount.
The increase in fee collections is largely due to recent increases in gas prices.
The state’s Independent Fiscal Office expects drillers to pay about $234 million dollars in impact fees for 2021.
Last year’s impact fee collections dropped $54 million compared to 2019, mainly because of low gas prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pennsylvania oil and gas companies will pay an estimated $145 million in impact fees for 2020 — more than $50 million less than in 2019.
Pennsylvania collected about 20 percent less in impact fees from natural gas drillers last year than in 2018, according to the Public Utility Commission.
Lower prices for natural gas last year will mean a 21% drop in drilling fee revenue for Pennsylvania’s state programs and county and municipal governments.
