Consumer Energy Alliance

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to help expand the dialogue between the energy and consuming sectors to improve understanding of energy security, more effectively develop and use both renewable and oil & gas energy resources in an environmentally conscious manner, create sound energy policy and maintain stable energy prices for consumers.

Consumer Energy Alliance Names Tommy Foltz Director of New Regional Chapter, Consumer Energy Alliance – South

Little Rock, Ark. – June 24, 2009 Today, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) announces the formation of its newest regional chapter, Consumer Energy Alliance – South and names Tommy Foltz Director of CEA-South.

As part of the launch, CEA-South is rolling out its lecture series titled, “Wellheads to Windblades,” which will focus on the broad spectrum of energy industry issues currently being debated in Washington, D.C. The organization is offering the series for free to Rotary, Kiwanis and other civic clubs, as well as universities and other interested groups throughout the CEA-South region. The effort is supported by its 120 affiliate members and 160,000-person national network.

“The ground is literally shifting beneath the feet of the energy industry in Washington these days,” said Tommy Foltz, CEA-South‘s executive director. “We want people to gain some perspective on the options providing energy to a world whose population is rapidly expanding.”

A number of proposals are being floated in Congress that could drive energy prices higher, and affect energy supply and employment rates throughout the country.

“In the future, we’ll need more, not less, energy than we have today, and we need it to be produced here. Alaska alone would be the 8^th largest oil and gas reserve holder in the world if it were its own country,” continued Foltz. “Yet, we still have difficulty accessing that resource. All that does is force us to buy from countries that, in many cases, are outwardly hostile to us.”

The lecture will discuss drilling off the Outer Continental Shelf, the state of the biofuels industry, the benefits of natural gas production, the threat to already limited refining capacity, and wind and solar power.

The lecture series will include a 30-40 minute PowerPoint presentation followed by a question and answer session.

About Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) and CEA-South

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports the thoughtful utilization of energy resources to help ensure improved domestic and global energy security and stable prices for consumers while balancing U.S. energy needs with environmental goals.

CEA-South is a regional chapter of CEA, which includes Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We are so excited to have Tommy Foltz join the CEA organization, especially in such an important region of the nation,” said CEA president David Holt. “With gasoline and energy prices rising again and the ever growing need for a balanced, robust U.S. energy policy that includes development of oil, natural gas, biofuels and alternative energy, we look forward to expanding our network of consumer advocates with Tommy’s strong leadership.”

With more than 120 affiliated organizations and 160,000+ grassroots supporters, CEA has long advocated that the country needs a national energy policy that provides a comprehensive solution to our national security, environmental and economic challenges. These solutions include:

More access to offshore and onshore oil & natural gas;
Increased utilization of alternative energy ; and
Enhanced energy efficiency and conservation.

The mission of CEA-South is to expand the dialogue between the energy and consumer sectors to improve overall understanding of energy industry issues.

The goal of CEA-South is to provide a voice to consumers by educating and motivating them to speak out on vital energy issues affecting the livelihood of consumers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

About Tommy Foltz

Tommy Foltz has spent the majority of his 16-year career in the alternative-energy industry and is a former Clinton Administration political appointee. He founded and was president of Patriot Biofuels, Arkansas’ first independent biodiesel plant in 2005. He has also worked with the natural gas-vehicle industry and has been involved in energy policy efforts in Texas, Arkansas and Washington, D.C., since 1993.

Foltz is a senior advisor to HBW Resources in Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C., and was named executive director of CEA-South on June 1.