Tallahassee, FL – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) today announced the start of a statewide campaign designed to educate Florida lawmakers, families and businesses about the unending benefits of energy and the central role it plays in their everyday lives and budgets.
CEA’s “Campaign for America’s Energy” will highlight the important role that affordable, reliable energy plays in the lives of families and businesses, and the consequences that result from bad policy decisions. CEA will continue to hold the energy industry in Florida and throughout its neighboring states to a high safety standard, recognizing the need for continued innovation to advance environmental goals.
The launch of this movement, aimed at changing, balancing, and improving the energy discussion so that those directly impacted – American families and business – have a greater voice in the dialogue. The effort will give elected officials the opportunity to adopt new policies that support energy production and delivery. CEA also aims to bring greater awareness to how rejecting or delaying energy production and infrastructure projects hurt lower-income households and those on fixed incomes, like retirees.
The campaign comes at a time when, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Floridians spend nearly $2,800 annually on energy. For a low-income person living at the poverty line, that translates to 23 percent of their individual income. These expenses often saddle households and small businesses who can least afford them, including those near the coast and in regions bordering the Panhandle coastal areas like Pensacola and many portions of Central Florida, for instance.
“Elected leaders across the state have the chance to implement and manage a sensible energy policy that provides solutions to meeting our energy needs and keeping costs down,” Brewster Bevis, Senior Vice President of State and Federal Affairs for the Associated Industries of Florida, said. “That’s why it’s important that CEA’s Campaign for America’s Energy helps to remind our elected leaders of that opportunity and to understand how energy needs can be met while we also protecting our environment.”
“Floridians shouldn’t have to choose between air-conditioning, buying a meal, or filling a medical prescription, yet for too many, that’s precisely what’s happening – and energy costs are a big reason why,” said Kevin Doyle, Executive Director, CEA-Florida. “Yes, we agree: We must push energy companies to innovate, reduce emissions and improve performance. Protecting and improving the environment is a must-do. But so is lowering the cost of energy, and we can only do this if Democrats and Republicans work together to push balanced legislation.”
CEA, an advocacy organization representing many different types of consumers like families, manufacturers, agriculture, transporters, distributors, energy producers, renewables and various other industries in Florida and across the U.S., focuses on helping ensure stable prices, energy security, and balanced energy policy for those consumers across the country. The organization pushes energy companies to innovate and improve performance while supporting energy independence and a diversification of our energy resources, including renewables like solar and wind.
For more information on the campaign, visit www.consumerenergyalliance.org/campaign-for-americas-energy/Florida.
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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) brings together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers and manufacturers to support America’s energy future. With more than 450,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households across the country. We believe energy development is something that touches everyone in our nation, and thus it is necessary for all of us to actively engage in the conversation about how we develop our diverse energy resources and energy’s importance to the economy. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.
Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
ehaggstrom@consumerenergyalliance.org
