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Senate Drops
Climate Change Legislation On July 22, Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, admitted something electric cooperative members have been trying to tell him for three years: Americans do not want climate change legislation if it means paying dramatically higher rates for electricity and other goods and services. On that date, Reid was forced to abandon efforts to pass climate change legislation after failing to sway senators from both parties, despite 18 months of arm twisting. Instead, Reid says the Senate will now work on passing a modest energy bill that will focus instead on energy efficiency and the BP oil spill. The move followed several earlier efforts to pass Senate legislation that also failed to gain traction last fall. Those efforts became mired in economic distress and scientific scandals that left many wondering if they can trust any of the science on this issue. Since 2007, electric cooperative members have inundated Congress with messages urging lawmakers to consider electric bills as they debate the climate change issue. Through the electric cooperatives' "Our Energy, Our Future" campaign, more than 3.2 million messages have flooded House and Senate offices. This includes more than 748,000 from Missouri alone. The messages all had one theme in common: Rural America cannot handle another huge rate increase. And they have made a difference. As the debate on this issue has taken place in both chambers, electric cooperatives have had a seat at the table thanks to the messages sent in by members. In fact, when Missouri Sen. Kit Bond addressed the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee in November 2009, he spoke before a huge stack of postcards sent in by Missouri consumers. Despite the setback, this issue is not dead, and your electric bills are not safe. The Environmental Protection Agency has said it will pass strict regulations that take affect in January 2011 if Congress does not act. These regulations likely will not have any compromises that would soften the blow to consumers. And while some Congressional members do not believe the balance of power between branches of the government will allow EPA to wield its stick, others are more concerned. Missouri's U.S. Reps. Ike Skelton and Jo Ann Emerson drafted a bi-partisan bill this year that would reign in EPA on the climate change issue. They believe letting EPA regulate carbon would result in a "Glorious Mess." Their reasoning: unlike earlier efforts to control emissions of sulfur dioxide, there is no commercially viable option today to remove emissions of CO2 from power plants. So utilities would be forced to buy expensive carbon credits to continue generating electricity from coal, or switch to natural gas. The problem? Consumers would ultimately pay for any carbon tax or cap-and-trade plan. And switching to natural gas would be extremely expensive, because natural gas generation is two to three times more expensive than generation from coal. Missouri's electric cooperatives are concerned about any legislation that would increase costs for members who are already struggling to make ends meet. Electric co-ops typically serve a population that is older, more likely to be on fixed incomes, more likely to be unemployed and more likely to be below the federal poverty level than their urban and suburban counterparts. We believe that any climate change legislation passed must keep electric bills affordable and the power supply reliable. At the same time, climate change goals need to be achievable. Please join us in keeping the pressure on Congress so that electricity will never become a luxury only the very rich can afford. Rural America witnessed that take place before electric cooperatives were formed. We never want to return to those dark days again.
A Call to Action Once again we need your help. As you may know, the Cap and Trade legislation has stalled in the Senate. There is still a chance that they will address this issue later this year, or sometime next year after the 2010 elections. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently considering proposals to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The author of the Clean Air Act, Rep. John Dingle, D-Michigan, stated this would result in a "glorious mess" as the Clean Air Act was never intended nor designed to regulate these emissions. It is the responsibility of Congress to determine any climate change legislation, not the EPA. There is currently one bill in the Senate and two bills in the House that would prevent the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sponsors the Senate measure and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-ND, wrote the one bill in the House, while the second is authored by Reps. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, Collin Peterson, D-MN, and Jo Ann Emerson, R-Missouri. We ask that you contact Senator Bond, Senator McCaskill, and Representative Graves and ask them to support these measures. Congress needs to step in and prevent the EPA from using the Clean Air Act as a tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, such as power plants. It's the role of Congress to determine greenhouse gas policy that is fair and affordable for all Americans. We are making it easy for you to contact the senators and congressman listed above. Click here to download and print postcards to simplify the process of communicating with your representative and senators. In 1932, President Franklin Roosevelt declared that electricity was a necessity, not a luxury. He committed to making it available and affordable to all Americans. We must not turn back from that commitment. For more information, please go online to ourenergy.coop. Complete these postage-paid cards and drop them in the mail... (946KB PDF)
Fight for Fair,
Affordable Climate Change Policy Climate change legislation is moving forward in Congress, and Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, along with all other electric cooperatives across the nation, finds itself in the national spotlight. During the spring and early summer, congressional energy policy debate focused on a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants - a system that could impact all levels of the economy. If enacted, Congress would be directly responsible for raising your electric bill. Farmers’ Electric and others across the country need your help to minimize these costs to you. Right now, your participation in the Our Energy, Our Future™ grassroots campaign is critical. Electric co-ops stepped up early in the debate to fight for fairness and affordability as this legislation was considered in the U.S. House of Representatives. Backed by more than 375,000 consumers taking part in the Our Energy, Our Future campaign, electric co-ops had a major impact, securing more than $3 billion in rate relief from initial U.S. House proposals. But that victory marks just the first inning in a long ballgame. The debate has now moved to the U.S. Senate, where another version of the bill is being drafted. Here we have another opportunity to make even more improvements - and you can impact the outcome. We must urge members of the Senate to keep climate change legislation: * Fair: Climate change legislation needs to recognize regional differences in how electricity is produced. * Affordable: Any climate change plan must keep electricity affordable for all Americans. *Achievable: Climate change legislation must be realistic to ensure long-term success. It is time we all step up to the
plate and make a stand for climate change legislation that protects the
interests of consumers. Your senators as well as members of the U.S. House need
to hear from you, their voting constituents, for direction. Getting your voice heard in
Washington is easy through the Our Energy, Our Future campaign. Visit www.ourenergy.coop to send a
message to your elected officials about the need for fair, affordable, and achievable climate change
legislation. We must ensure that when they vote on a bill, it's done with America's best interests in mind. Climate and Politics
Will Impact Your Wallet
Pressure is mounting in Congress to do something about climate change. And while political debates in Washington, D.C., may seem faraway, the outcome will have a direct impact on our cooperative - and on you, the cooperative member and other electric consumers. Climate change is but one aspect of a looming energy crisis created by increasing demand and decreasing capacity to meet that demand. Experts now say some areas of the country will be short of power within one or two years. And yet energy supply isn't an issue our elected representatives are spending a lot of time on. These forces, the desire by government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and the growing demand for power by consumers, are about to collide. Some people say we can meet demand through efficiency and renewable energy. The reality is we need all the efficiency and renewable energy we can get, but that will not be enough. To avert an energy crisis, the federal government must exercise true leadership, the same leadership that got Americans to the moon in the1960s. Without that leadership - without a sound, responsible plan - government risks not only the reliability of our electric system, but literally the ability of many Americans to be able to afford to pay their electric bill. We, as electric co-op members and constituents, must call on elected officials to provide this leadership. That's why I want to encourage you to contact your elected officials. Now. You don't need to be an energy expert to ask questions. Asking questions helps find the answers to solve the problem of balancing climate change goals with keeping your lights on and your electric bills affordable. Right now, members of Congress as well as state elected officials are hearing from lots of different interest groups who have ideas about how to address climate change. No one is talking to consumers, however. We need a plan people can live with today while we deal with the climate change problem of tomorrow. To make things easy, we have a Web site that will send an email for you. Go to www.ourenergy.coop and plug in your address. There you'll be able to ask a series of questions to your representatives in Washington. We're kicking this effort off with a basic but critical question: "What are they doing to make sure we'll have the power we need in the future?" Far too often questions don't get asked by policymakers until plans go wrong. We believe it makes sense to know the answers before the laws are passed. You can help your elected officials and yourself by having this conversation. The electric bill you save will be your own. |
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