Facebook Instagram Linkedin RSS Twitter Youtube

Top Perry Aide: Inaction on Coal, Nuclear Plan Endangers Power Grid

Electric transmission lines

A top official with the Department of Energy urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Tuesday to approve Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposal to protect coal and nuclear plants, saying there was “broad consensus FERC must act.”

Menezes’ comments, made during a forum in Washington hosted by the Consumer Energy Alliance, come as FERC is fast approaching its Dec. 11 deadline to decide on Perry’s proposal to give coal and nuclear power plants an additional tariff to help stop them from shutting down and potentially destabilizing the grid.

“Continued action only would make the problem worse,” said Energy Undersecretary Mark Menenzes. “We know there are constant threats to our system, so [Perry] will do what he can to make sure the grid is resilient.”

Read More – Houston Chronicle

Campaign for America’s Energy: Why Ohio Energy Matters

Family Outside in a Field

Energy. It fuels and powers Ohio’s businesses, farms and families of all sizes, providing tremendous opportunity for job growth across industry sectors and improving the lives of countless Ohioans. Yet this opportunity can only occur if our energy costs are affordable, we continue to advance environmental goals and the energy we use is reliable.

Do you remember how expensive energy bills were just a short time ago, with the price of a gallon of regular gas at $4.11 and natural gas reaching $12.71?

Imagine those prices today, coupled with the ever-increasing electricity rates you are paying. Can your business or family afford to have these high prices return? For many, the answer is simply no.

The primary reason energy costs have decreased is an increase in American energy production, led in part by energy exploration in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. To put this in perspective, if these three states were a separate country, it would be the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world. In fact, for the first time in history, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) is predicting that, this winter, the United States will not have to import any natural gas, which could not be accomplished without Ohio’s increased energy production.

In Ohio, we’re seeing an unprecedented investment in natural gas-fired power generation, with nearly a dozen power plants being built or in the planning stages. Businesses are realizing electricity prices that, in some cases, are 50 percent lower than in other exporting countries. At the same time, Ohio’s homeowners have seen their natural gas bills substantially decrease year over year.

But make no mistake, the high energy prices that stifled economic growth, threatened jobs and pushed budgets to the brink can return if our elected officials make bad policy choices. And in today’s policy arena, with such differing points of view, anything can happen.

Once-bipartisan issues, such as achieving American energy independence from foreign countries and investing in new and modernized energy infrastructure, have become increasingly partisan, with small, well-funded groups fighting to not just limit energy production and transmission in Ohio, but to stop it altogether.

As with any piece of infrastructure, we must make common-sense choices about investing, building and upgrading energy in Ohio, from transmission infrastructure like high-voltage lines to pipelines to diversifying our energy with more solar and wind production. Yet, as noted by researchers, we are caught up in an unproductive, divisive and often misinformed debate about our energy strategy, which threatens not only Ohio, but our country’s economic and environmental goals. Instead of providing thoughtful solutions and ideas, some individuals continue to make the illogical argument that we must choose between energy development and environmental protection. But why? We can, and must, have both.

Energy is not a partisan issue. The environment is not a partisan issue. It is time that people in communities across our state and this country come together with thoughtful solutions that can benefit not only our communities, but communities everywhere. We cannot become complacent when it comes to ensuring affordable, reliable and safe delivery of our American energy resources.

It is time to change the discussion by highlighting the importance of the energy that businesses, farms and families all need. It is time to raise public awareness and ensure our elected officials realize the consequences that bad policy decisions could have on Ohio’s job creators and families.

For too long, well-funded anti-development groups have attacked energy development without understanding the consequences to families and businesses or providing actual solutions to meet our basic everyday needs. That is why Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is launching Campaign for America’s Energy, focused on fostering a more thoughtful public discussion on the implications that energy policy has on businesses and families across our state. It is time we look at the facts in order to end this unproductive and often misinformed or intentionally misleading discussion on energy.

The fact is that Ohio deserves a cleaner environment. But Ohio also deserves common-sense, balanced state energy policies that encourage development, production and transmission of traditional energy resources, and the simultaneous development of renewable energy sources that are clean, reliable and affordable.

It’s also a fact that technological innovation has allowed Ohio to become one of the leading energy- producing states in the country, while also upholding some of the most stringent environmental standards enacted not just in America, but in the world.

Responsibly developing Ohio’s energy resources and protecting the environment are not a zero-sum game. We can, and must, do both to preserve our state and all it has to offer our children.

We invite you to join us in leading a rational dialogue on why Ohio’s energy matters to our businesses, our communities and our families.

Chris Ventura is executive director for Consumer Energy Alliance – Midwest. Prior to joining CEA, Ventura served as senior project manager for the Ohio House of Representatives under Speaker William Batchelder. CEA is the leading U.S. consumer advocate in support of affordable, reliable energy for working families, seniors and businesses across the country. To learn more, visit www.ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org

It’s Time for Pa. To ‘Energize’ Its Infrastructure

Worker in a manufacturing facility

Former Congressman Charlie Melancon discusses the importance of Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region embracing energy infrastructure to create jobs and help the United States achieve energy independence.

Across the country, states are increasingly relying on natural gas and looking to these hubs for core resources. According to Forbes, the extensive Marcellus and Utica shale deposits have “changed the directional flow of the entire U.S. transmission system,” which now runs “more east to west and north to south.” A recent Natural Gas Intelligence Shale Primer qualifies that this pace of production would in fact be faster were it not for the lack of midstream capacity in the Appalachian region that have led to “bottlenecks in the Marcellus.” Infrastructure needs to expand here to meet demand and to capitalize on the resource, given how recent developments have demonstrated that the regional natural gas supply is vast and recoverable enough to support sustained market growth across regional economies.

Read more – The Delaware County Daily Times

Energy Efficient Gift Guide

With the holiday season upon us, it’s time to think of energy efficient gifts to give your friends and family. This year eco-friendly gift-giving is a growing trend, and we suggest you get on board! Not only are these gifts affordable, but they’ll make you feel better about spreading the word of staying energy efficient and also feel great helping your friends and family stay eco-friendly throughout the new year. Below, are a few energy efficient gift ideas to help get you started on the upcoming holidays.

Man adjusting the temperature on the thermostat of his house

1The Nest Thermostat

The Nest Thermostat is one of the most popular energy efficient products on the market. Although it isn’t necessarily one of the cheapest gifts you can give on Christmas, it can help your friends and family better manage their heating and cooling bills. This thermostat has the ability to learn and automatically adapt to seasonal changes, as well as your regular daily routines.

As soon as you install it, the Nest thermostat will start learning how to program itself. For example, lowering the temperature when no one is in the house and heating the house when it gets too cold at night. The thermostat can also connect to its companion app, which you can use to track your energy usage and control it over a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Additionally, the Nest thermostat also has built-in security measures which alert you if a pipes burst or if there is something wrong with your furnace.

Pressure Cooker

2The Pressure Cooker

Pressure cookers can help significantly reduce the amount of time you need to cook, compared to regular stovetop cooking. This is because a pressure cooker pressurizes hot air in an enclosed area to cook quicker. Fortunately, pressure cookers can cook anything from meats to soups and rice. However, pressure cookers come in a variety of sizes – from small personal stovetop units to large electronic ones. Shop around to make sure you buy the right one for your loved one.

Softbrew Coffee

3SoftBrew Coffee Pots

Who doesn’t love that first taste of coffee in the morning? However, brewing coffee is a very wasteful process requiring disposable k-cups or paper filters. Producing and disposing of these filters and k-cups requires a lot of energy. Luckily, there is a simple and efficient solution. SoftBrew Coffee Pots do not require the use of filters or pods. They offer the same great taste without any of the trash. The only leftover is the used coffee grounds which can be composted or used as fertilizer.

4Dynaco Wireless Bluetooth Speaker & LED Lamp

This is the perfect gift for a teen or any music lover in your life. The Dynaco Wireless Bluetooth Speaker and Touch Lamp provides versatile functionality in a sleek and eco-friendly design. It gives off three levels of light which you can control with your touch. Also, you can connect it to any device with Bluetooth like your phone, tablet, or MP3 player. You can also make hands free calls via the microphone.

Hand Holding Lights

5LED Holiday Light Strands

Nothing beats the warm light of a long glowing strand of holiday lights. In addition to making your home feel cozy, they provide a wonderful ambient light. However, traditional holiday lights are incandescent and their warm glow is powered by more than 2 watts per bulb. That power adds up quickly, especially when compared to more efficient alternatives. An entire string of 100 LED holiday lights uses less power than two bulbs from an incandescent strand. With those energy savings, you could light up the whole house!

These are just a few of the many energy efficient gifts you could give to your loved ones this holiday season. In fact, there are so many eco-friendly gift options out there, you may be surprised by all the choices you have. Hopefully our guide sparked some ideas!

FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, DOE Under Secretary for Energy Mark Menezes Speak to the Need for Additional Transmission, Building Workforce

Electricity

WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 28, 2017 – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a national advocate for energy consumers, hosted The Future of Electricity Forum and were joined by FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, Department of Energy Under Secretary for Energy Mark Menezes, Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) and various energy policy experts to talk about the current power system and what the future of America’s energy sector and its adjoining electrical grid might look like.

During the presentation, speakers from across fuel types continued to stress the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that does not pit fuel sources against each other. They also discussed their primary concerns surrounding threats to the grid and the current condition of the grid regarding increased threats from cyber terror, grid reliability and resiliency, how technology is moving across the globe, and the brain power that comes along with these modernization and technological innovations.

“It is important to bring these thought leaders together to discuss how the future of our country’s electricity,” said Michael Whatley, Executive Vice President of Consumer Energy Alliance. “The conversation on grid reliability, resiliency and security are critical because we need states, utilities and the federal government looking at long-term solutions to the cybersecurity threats and physical challenges that are facing the grid today.”

Neil Chatterjee, Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission spoke to the nature of the agency and the need to make technical analyses – not political.

“I think the questions that Secretary Perry has raised about grid resiliency and security are meritorious questions – and questions that have been out there for some time,” said Chatterjee. “It’s important to fully understand, as we contemplate our energy future, what these changes in our marketplace and our fuel mix mean. These are the kinds of difficult questions we’re up against because they are not clean, and they necessitate bold leadership. This is what we’re up against.”

“Despite our energy successes, we face challenges and risks to our country’s reliability and resiliency. That’s why it is important to look at how new technology and market demands have come together to lay the foundation for new research that has led to a more advanced generation of innovative energy technologies for Americans and our allies abroad,” said Department of Energy Under Secretary Mark Menezes. “We accept production and transmission as the way it is, but technology is changing what we know every day. That’s because energy as a whole in this country is so broad, it truly is an all of the above landscape.”

One of those challenges is understanding the role natural gas has played in not only reducing emissions but filling the demand gap left by the shuttering of existing forms of generation and the transition being made to distributed fuel sources, speakers said.

“As our technology has grown and changed over time, we now have incredible access to natural gas in regions across the country,” said Dena Wiggins, President, and CEO of Natural Gas Supply Association. “This unprecedented access to these American resources not only helps to support our growing and diversified fuel mix, it also helps meet the growing energy demand and environmental goals set by our communities. Our suppliers are ready to meet that demand, but to access this low-cost, reliable fuel we need to create the proper infrastructure to support its safe delivery, which is why we’re happy that FERC is finally at quorum to hopefully unlock some of the logjams that have been created over the last year, and gets this much-needed fuel to consumers across the U.S.”

Speaking of the consumer benefits of long-term planning and a balanced fuel mix, Noel Black, Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs, Southern Company said:

“In Georgia, the average consumer electric bill has basically stayed the same today as it was in 2011. That’s because we’ve been able to use all energy options available to dispatch when they’re needed to keep our supply curve flat, which ultimately helps our customers,” said Black. “And by maintaining our nuclear fleet in the Southeast, we are providing our customers with clean, reliable power for 60-80 years while others are taking this fuel source offline.”

Speaking on the need for a balanced energy mix Scott Aaronson, Executive Director, Security and Business Continuity at Edison Electric Institute said: “It’s time to let the markets dictate what they need because you can trust the markets to get it right. Ultimately, it will be a better use of our U.S. resources while also unleashing American jobs.”

###

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

Consumer Energy Alliance, West Virginia Coal Association and Elected Officials to EPA: Lower Energy Costs, Help Families

Morrisey

CHARLESTON, W.V. — November 28, 2017 — Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a national advocate for energy consumers, the West Virginia Coal Association, along with Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Senate President Mitch Carmichael, Speaker of the House Tim Armstead, and Butch Antolini with the office of Governor Jim Justice joined together today to highlight reliability concerns and higher energy costs stemming from the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and the necessity to move forward on repealing the regulation.

During a press conference held on the North Side of the West Virginia State Capitol, while public hearings on the proposed repeal of the regulation continued, elected officials and trade groups from West Virginia and several surrounding states encouraged the EPA to develop a fuel mix strategy that better supports the safe and responsible development of coal and helps keep energy prices affordable and reliable for consumers and energy-intensive industries – which the 1,550-page Clean Power Plan does not do.

The following individuals provided quotes for today’s press conference highlighting the need to repeal the Clean Power Plan:

  • Bill Raney, President, West Virginia Coal Association
  • The Honorable Jim Justice, WV Governor
  • The Honorable Patrick Morrisey, WV Attorney General
  • The Honorable Mitch Carmichael, WV State Senate President
  • The Honorable Tim Armstead, Speaker of the WV House of Delegates
  • The Honorable John Blanton, Kentucky House of Representatives
  • Jerry Mullins, National Mining Association
  • Chris Hamilton, WV Business and Industry Council
  • Phil Gonet, Illinois Coal Association
  • Tyler White, Kentucky Coal Association
  • Harry Childress, Virginia Coal and Energy Alliance

“When evaluating the impact of energy policies on consumers, policymakers must first consider how prices affect the most vulnerable amongst us: low- and fixed-income families who struggle because of price increases,” Chris Ventura, CEA’s Midwest Director, said after testifying at the hearing. “Not surprisingly, low-income families across West Virginia and the Midwest spend a larger percentage of their disposable income on electricity, heating costs and transportation fuels than other income brackets.”

“And unlike other necessities like housing, food, and healthcare, energy consumers generally cannot shop around for cheaper resources to lower their bills, nor do federal and state governments have sufficient resources allocated to fully assist with energy bills,” he added. “This is why CEA strongly believes that a balanced electricity mix – focused on rate affordability and power reliability – is ultimately the best course of action for consumers and the environment.”

And it’s not just hard-working, cash-strapped families who stand to lose should the Clean Power Plan move forward; hard-working employees and cash-strapped businesses would too, said Bill Raney, President, West Virginia Coal Association.

“The Clean Power Plan is an unrealistic, impracticable, economy-killing concept that would adversely impact businesses, large and small, across West Virginia and forcibly and adversely reshape the country’s electrical grid,” he said. “This week’s hearings are another step by the Trump administration to follow through on its promises to carefully review environmental policies set by the prior administration that are hurtful to American workers, in West Virginia and nationwide.”

“Shutting down coal-fired power plants would have closed mines and devastated other businesses that rely upon coal’s success, all resulting in significant job losses throughout West Virginia and other states,” said Attorney General Morrisey.

Advocating to keep all energy production strong in West Virginia and across the U.S. should be a must-do for those looking to keep energy costs low, support our economies, and create solutions that benefit our environment as well – which is just about everyone, Kentucky State Representative John Blanton said.

“Thanks to our top-of-the-line stringent environmental safeguards, protection for laborers, and advanced technology, producing energy in Kentucky and the U.S. is second to none,” Blanton said. “We need to make sure that we’re creating policies that work to protect our environment and grow our economy. We have everything on hand to do both without this unnecessary, dangerous regulatory action.”

And many in Virginia agree, Harry Childress, President of the Virginia Coal and Energy Alliance, said.

“For years, many of Virginia’s coal communities have seen the Clean Power Plan for exactly what it is: A thinly-veiled assault on their livelihood which stands to cripple their line of work while providing hardly any environmental benefits,” he said. “Fortunately, the Trump administration, by executive order, is axing the regulation along with another remnant of the Obama administration’s anti-coal policy, the moratorium on all new leases of federal coal reserves. And both are efforts everyone who wants a strong economy with low-cost energy should support.”

“For nearly eight years, I have been fighting for Southeast Ohio’s families, small businesses, and manufacturers,” said Ohio Rep. Andy Thompson. “Southeast Ohio relies on companies that produce energy to provide good-paying jobs for our families. Our small businesses and manufacturers depend upon the affordable energy we produce here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. It is time for the Trump Administration to put Ohioans back to work by repealing the Clean Power Plan.”

“Many have called this the Costly Power Plan, and an economic impact study by Energy Ventures Analysis shows this regulation will result in a $214 billion increase in wholesale electricity prices by 2020,” said Phil Gonet, President of the Illinois Coal Association. “This means consumers will face higher utility costs, disproportionately affecting low-income and rural families harming the economic competitiveness of Illinois.”

“Ohio’s businesses cannot continue to be straddled with burdensome and costly regulations that will increase the cost of electricity,” said Zack Frymier of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “In order to remain competitive to continue growing Ohio’s economy and employing more Ohioans, our businesses need a balanced energy policy.”

###

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

Energy Costs Are Hurting Louisianians

Louisiana Mardi Gras Parade

Source – American Press

As if paying for food, shelter, and other necessities wasn’t strenuous enough, high energy costs, paired with below-average incomes, are putting even more of a strain on middle and lower-income families.

Per reports, 938,000 households in Louisiana with gross incomes below $50,000 — about 55 percent of all Louisiana households — spent, on average, 17 percent of their income paying their utility and gasoline bills in 2015. The 606,000 households earning less than $30,000 before taxes paid 23 percent of their after-tax income.

With Louisiana’s poverty rate ranking third highest as of last year, and the state now the largest energy consumer per capita, it’s clear these households and the three-fifths which use electricity for home heating and air conditioning are in dire need of a break.

Expanding the state’s energy production sector and approving its pipeline infrastructure is the most viable and logical way to achieve that. Here’s why: According to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuels accounted for 81 percent of the world’s energy consumption in 1987. Thirty years later, even after renewable energy’s impressive growth, it’s still 81 percent.

“Coal, oil, and natural gas aren’t going anywhere, no matter the strides the world makes in renewables and other energy sources,” the agency said, stressing the need to better support technology that makes fossil fuels cleaner.

This applies to Louisiana, where the energy that powers more than three-quarters of the state’s economy comes in irrespective of its mode of transportation. Be it via truck, railway or barge, massive quantities of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas will flow in and be used by millions to help keep the lights on, cell phones charged, air-conditioning units buzzing and car tanks full.

And while energy moves in various modes, there’s a technology that has proven to be, statistically, top-of- the-line in getting resources to end users securely: pipelines.

Per the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 2.5 million miles worth of pipelines crisscross the country, under our feet, out of sight, including 125,000 miles here in Louisiana. Nearly every home, business and community has a pipeline delivering much-needed resources every day. They’re the economic and energy arteries of our world.

What’s more, they’re also the safest way to move energy and shield the environment. Studies show that transporting resources via pipeline is 4.5 times safer than moving the same amount of energy across the same distance by other means, and over 99.999 percent of what’s moved via pipeline safely reaches its destination. I’ll take those odds.

So, too, should those who oppose infrastructure buildout and proposals like the much-debated Bayou Bridge Pipeline. By rejecting all pipeline maintenance or expansion proposals without any legitimate alternatives, these activists are setting their disadvantaged, cash-strapped neighbors further back.

And while social service programs that aid low-income families help foot the bill, they don’t address the root problem — preventing electric bills from getting that high to begin with. These programs also strain local and federal governments, which oftentimes do not have the funds to assist.

Greenlighting the buildout and maintenance of more pipelines and better supporting the energy sector will help all the above. It’ll also help decrease emissions levels by removing trucks off roadways.

Remember, there’s a lot more at stake when it comes to pipelines than just the environment and the economy, vulnerable households and communities included.

Tommy Foltz is CEA’s executive vice president

Top 5 Stories in Energy This Week

energy
Putting gas in car

1Gasoline Prices Slightly Lower in Time for Thanksgiving (via WISC)

Drivers across the United States got a slight reprieve at the pump as they traveled to meet loved ones for Thanksgiving. Gasoline prices dipped by about three cents around the country to settle on an average of $2.54 per gallon. Even though drivers certainly welcomed this break, they are still facing fuel prices that are 20 percent higher than the last Thanksgiving; in fact, analysts noted that 2017 is the first time since 2012 that gas prices actually increased during the weeks prior to the holiday travel season. Drivers should expect higher gasoline and diesel prices from now until January of 2018.

Electric Car Charging On Street

2Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Stay Busy During Thanksgiving Travel Week (via Baltimore Sun)

Reporters from the Baltimore Sun observed heavy recharging activity of electric cars at the Maryland House Travel Plaza, located along a busy I-95 section of Aberdeen. Drivers traveling to visit their families for Thanksgiving kept the eight Tesla and five universal charging stations, which are free to use, quite busy this week. Free charging stations along I-95 in Maryland are managed by the Maryland Transportation Authority, a state government agency that plans to install a few more travel plazas with free chargers in the near future.

Electric Car Charging Station

3Tesla Motors Meets Nikola Motors, a Mighty Electric Vehicle Competitor (via Inhabitat)

American automaker Tesla Motors is the darling of the electric vehicle world; however, a worthy competitor is emerging with an impressive model that offers far more power and energy capacity. Nikola Motors recently unveiled the Nikola Zero, an all-terrain vehicle powered by four electric motors that deliver massive torque at 4,900 lb-ft. and 555 horsepower. The 125 kWh battery pack offers more capacity that the Tesla Model S, and the waterproof undercarriage invites drivers to take the Nikola Zero on river crossing adventures. It should be noted that these competing automakers are named after the late Nikola Tesla, a Serbian inventor who is considered the godfather of electrical innovation.

Wind Farm

4American Wind Power Subsidies Could be Reduced
 (via OC Register)

Republican Members of Congress are seeking to curtail the subsidies that have been enjoyed by wind power companies as part of the tax reform package promoted by United States President Donald Trump. Under its current form, the Wind Production Tax Credit provides a subsidy of 2.3 cents per kilowatt hour; the Republican proposal would be to cut the subsidy down to 1.5 cents per kWh.

Monthly natural gas heating bill

5Winter Heating Bills Slightly Higher But Mostly Stable (via 4 Traders)

As American households enter the 2017-2018 winter season, they should expect heating bills that will be about $32 higher than what they paid last year. This forecast is based on fuel prices, which have been very stable thanks to solid shale gas production, and winter temperatures, which are expected to be colder this time around. Analysts believe that the average cost of keeping homes warm this winter will be around $435, a figure that represents an eight percent increase since last year. Households that have heating units fueled with propane extracted from shale gas are expected to spend less since these systems run more efficiently. For most of the country, the winter heating season started in early November and should continue through March.

Consumer Energy Alliance 2017 Annual Report

CEA 2017 Annual Report

Read our latest annual report here:

Gas Prices Decreasing in Southwest Florida As 51 Million Americans Plan Holiday Travel

Cars in Traffic

A year ago, prices were much more affordable after dropping an average of 14 cents in the first 26 days of November. The state average was at $2.11 a gallon on Nov. 18, 2016. In Naples it stood at $2.20 and reached $2.17 on Nov. 28 after prices fell 12 cents in 29 days.

While gas prices are stabilizing after the recent spike, Kevin Doyle, executive director for the Consumer Energy Alliance of Florida, said the recent swing points to the need to encourage more oil production in North America and to reduce the dependence on oil from other countries.

“It’s a wake-up call to make sure we pursue good energy policies,” he said.

Read More – Naples Daily News

1...172173174...338Page 173 of 338

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

© Consumer Energy Alliance