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CEA Asks Legislators to Support Vital Pipeline Infrastructure & Help Lower Electricity Costs

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a national consumer advocacy organization with more than 20,000 members in New England, delivered more than 4,500 letters from energy consumers across Massachusetts to 40 senators and three House members urging them to oppose an amendment included in the Energy Diversity Bill that would prevent vital pipeline infrastructure from being built in the state and risk increasing electricity costs for families and small businesses.

The letters, delivered by CEA, urge Senate and House members to agree to legislative language recently approved by the House – a bipartisan approach that would allow for much-needed electricity infrastructure expansion, continued renewable energy development, and a pathway to reducing Massachusetts’ staggering electricity prices, which are among the highest in the nation. CEA believes that an all-of-the-above energy strategy offers consumers the most choice, lowest cost, and, ultimately, best serves all families – especially those on fixed incomes.

“The simple truth is Massachusetts’ energy consumers – families, small businesses, and manufacturers – cannot continue to pay among the highest energy costs in this country,” said CEA Executive Vice President Michael Whatley. “Consumers want our elected leaders in Boston to develop a responsible, balanced energy policy by promoting diversity in energy resources that are clean, reliable, and affordable.”

In a recent poll conducted for CEA, a sample of registered voters overwhelmingly supported electricity generation from renewable sources (83 percent) and natural gas power plants (73 percent), clearly and convincingly showing that New England voters are concerned with clean, reliable, and cost efficient energy sources. By agreeing to the consumer-friendly House language, Massachusetts legislators can continue to support an all-of-the-above energy solution that is beneficial to families and businesses who currently pay less for their electricity than only Hawaii and Alaska.

Whatley added, “Consumers in New England are essentially on an island with what they pay in energy costs, but they don’t have to be if our legislators support policy that is beneficial to their constituents.”

Want to Build a Gas Pipeline? Be Prepared to Wait Years

Pipeline worker in pipe

America’s energy infrastructure is in need of modernization to better supply families, farmers, and manufacturers with affordable, reliable energy.

Six hundred days and counting. That’s the time one developer has waited just to build a 7-mile natural gas pipeline, while some projects have been in limbo for as long as three years.

Read more – Bloomberg

Voters Say Yes to Energy, No to ‘Keep It in the Ground’

CEA’s President, David Holt, recently was featured in RealClear Energy.

Job growth and the overall economy will be at the top of voters’ minds this coming Election Day, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll says. Other polls echoed similar sentiments. That’s because trepidation about the economy are shared by all Americans – Republicans, Democrats, Independents, blue states, red states, even you and me. We all have these worries. That’s why Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) recently sent a letter to the chairs of both parties – Reince Priebus of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) – asking them to make sure their party maintains its current and reasonable all-of-the-above stance on energy, which mixes renewable resources like solar and wind with safe, reliable – and still very much needed – fossil fuel and nuclear production.

Read more – RealClear Energy

More Natural Gas Needed to Rein in Energy Costs

CEA’s Michael Whatley discussed the price disparity faced by New England residents with the CommonWealth Magazine.

Consumers in Massachusetts pay over 50 percent more for electricity than the national average. As a matter of fact, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that Bay State consumers pay the fourth-highest rate for electricity in the country. In all, the New England region has paid about $7 billion more for electricity the past two winters than other regions of the country with access to natural gas. And unless we take immediate steps to upgrade and expand our energy infrastructure, relief won’t be coming anytime soon.

Read more – CommonWealth Magazine

 

A Pipeline to a Compromise

Inside view of a pipeline

Mid-Atlantic Executive Director Mike Butler discusses the benefits of pipeline infrastructure for Pennsylvanians.

To many, the Constitution Pipeline could hold many promises — jobs; infrastructure for communities, businesses and schools; much-needed tax revenue; and reduced heating costs. Unfortunately, the pipeline is now delayed — and we can thank the Cuomo administration for that.

Read more – Press & Sun-Bulletin

Consumer Energy Alliance Statement on Cook Inlet Lease Sale Draft EIS

Drilling Rig in Homer Alaska

In response to today’s U,S, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) release of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244 (June 2017), Consumer Energy Alliance President David Holt issued the following statement:

“Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is pleased to see BOEM taking an important step forward in preparing for proposed Cook Inlet Lease Sale 244, currently scheduled for June 2017. The proposed action included in BOEM’s draft EIS would make 100% of the proposed lease sale area available for leasing, with the area home to an estimated ~215 million barrels and 571 billion cubic feet of undiscovered economically recoverable oil and natural gas. With the State of Alaska continuing to face some of the nation’s highest energy costs as well as significant economic and budgetary challenges, today’s action represents a step in the right direction for energy consumers in Alaska and the lower 48.”

“As BOEM continues the process of preparing for the scheduled Cook Inlet lease sale, CEA looks forward to continued engagement with the agency and urges Alaskans and citizens across the country to encourage the adoption of BOEM’s proposed action.”

Consumer Energy Alliance Welcomes Three New Members From Kentucky to its Membership

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is pleased to welcome the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives (KEAC), Big Rivers Electric Corporation and East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) as its newest affiliate members.

“CEA is very excited to welcome three new members from Kentucky,” said Brydon Ross, Vice President of State Affairs. “We look forward to working with KAEC’s membership, Big Rivers, and East Kentucky Power to engage consumers across the Bluegrass State on the vital role electric cooperatives play in providing affordable and reliable electric power. They are on the front lines serving our rural and underserved members across the Commonwealth and we are incredibly pleased to partner and advocate with them for sensible energy policy.”

“Now, more than ever, it is important that Kentucky’s electricity consumers and leaders have access to sound, unbiased information on U.S. and global energy issues,” said KAEC President and CEO Chris Perry. “We welcome CEA to our truly cooperative effort to keep our cooperative members informed and engaged.”

Perry added: “CEA and Kentucky’s electric cooperatives share a common focus on affordable, reliable and safe energy. By partnering with CEA, which represents a cross section of energy concerns from business, industry, utilities and renewable energy interests, Kentucky’s electric cooperatives join a chorus of voices advocating for this shared goal.”

Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives is a statewide association that provides services for the 24 local, consumer-owned electric distribution utilities in the state, as well as two generation and transmission cooperatives that produce power. Electric co-ops in Kentucky serve 843,000 member-owners, providing power to one-third of Kentucky’s population. KAEC services include representation before the Legislature, Congress, and regulatory bodies; safety training; coordination of management training; assistance with annual membership meetings; youth programs; technical assistance; legal services and public relations support including publication of Kentucky Living magazine, the largest circulation publication in the state with nearly 480,000 copies mailed monthly, with a readership of 1.2 million.

Big Rivers Electric Corporation provides wholesale electric power to three distribution cooperatives across 22 counties in western Kentucky. Its three Member-Owners are Jackson Purchase Energy Corporation, headquartered in Paducah; Kenergy Corp, headquartered in Henderson; and Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, headquartered in Brandenburg. Together, the Member-Owners distribute retail electric power to more than 115,000 homes, farms, businesses and industries. Big Rivers owns and operates 1,444 net megawatts of generating capacity from four power stations, with additional rights to Henderson Municipal Power and Light’s Station Two and the Southeastern Power Administration. Big Rivers is led by an experienced management team, and governed by a six-member board of directors. The company’s priority remains to keep the cost of electricity affordable and the reliability of service high.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative providing wholesale electricity to 16 owner-member distribution cooperatives that serve 530,000 Kentucky homes, farms, businesses and industries across 87 counties. EKPC provides power through coal-fueled plants located in Mason and Pulaski counties; natural gas-fueled peaking units in Clark and Oldham counties; renewable energy plants in Barren, Boone, Laurel, Greenup, Hardin and Pendleton counties; and more than 2,800 miles of transmission lines. Together, EKPC and its 16 owner-member cooperatives are known as Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.

Consider Existing Line for Gas

Pipeline and shutoff valves

CEA’s Michael Whatley discusses the importance of maintaining and upgrading existing pipeline infrastructure to benefit household consumers of natural gas.

New York state has experienced the country’s biggest increase in the number of households using natural gas as a heating fuel source over the last decade, the U.S. Census Bureau says. In fact, a Politico New York analysis says that between 2005 and 2014, the number of New York natural gas customers went from 3.7 to 4.2 million. But it comes at a time when we’re having increasingly more difficulty getting the pipelines we need in the ground to enhance reliability and improve our access to natural gas.

Read more – Albany Times Union

BLM Should Allow Leasing to Proceed Near Chaco Canyon

CEA’s Andrew Browning discusses the importance of federal leases which help fund New Mexico’s first responders and public education.

Look at San Juan County, which has seen a 47 percent drop in such revenue since 2009. That has led to a loss of 9,000 jobs – a 17 percent reduction in the region’s workforce – and the closing of 7,500 operating wells. San Juan College, meanwhile, is working to close a budget deficit of about $1.38 million.

Read more – Albuquerque Journal

73% of Mass. Residents Support Using NatGas to Generate Electric

Marcellus Drilling News covered the most recent CEA poll about Massachusetts energy issues.

A poll recently conducted for Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) shows that Massachusetts voters believe that energy issues are important, and that Massachusetts voters strongly support the use of natural gas for electricity generation and the expansion of existing natural gas infrastructure. Some 73% of Mass. voters want to use natural gas to generate electricity. That is an astonishing majority in a very liberal state. Some 68% of those voters say energy issues will affect how they vote in November.

Read more – Marcellus Drilling News

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