By Robert Grattan Natural gas power plants will represent almost all the growth in Texas electricity generation until at least 2040, the U.S. Energy Department reports.
Gulf Coast to benefit from refinery retrofits
By Rhiannon Meyers Refiners are scrambling for ways to process newly abundant light crude from U.S. shale, and much of their construction and retrofitting investment will be on the Gulf Coast.
New England relying more on natural gas along with hydroelectric imports from Canada
Electric operators in New England have been both generating more electricity from natural gas and importing more hydroelectric generation from Quebec over the past decade. These two sources of electricity are displacing the use of coal and oil as generation fuels in New England.
How shale impact fees continue to help Pennsylvanians
Consumer Energy Alliance Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler penned an op-ed for ShaleReporter.com regarding the benefits of shale impact fees from shale production companies to county and municipal governments in Pennsylvania.
Imagine the excitement of officials in a pair of northern Pennsylvania counties earlier this year when they learned their communities and its hardworking taxpayers would get more than $22 million in impact fees collected from natural gas production companies.
Dale Phillips, supervisor chairperson in Foster Township, in McKean County, has called impact fee revenue “a shot in the arm,” adding “it helps us not to raise taxes when we can get money from other sources. Any additional revenue generated is always welcome to take the burden off the taxpayers.”
Numerous other state, county, and community representatives have echoed similar sentiments when asked about the economic advantages impact fees have delivered to Pennsylvanians. As per law, impacts fees are placed on wells drilling in the formation, with the levy changing annually based on natural gas prices and the Consumer Price Index. The formation’s vast reserves, in conjunction with new drilling technology, have helped Pennsylvania earn the cultivated “fastest-growing natural gas-producing state” honor by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Altogether, local impact fees have brought in about $630 million over the last three years – $204 million in 2011, $202 million in 2012, and $225 million in 2013. This is, of course, on top of the $1.2 billion in royalty payments that the natural gas industry issued to Commonwealth landowners in 2012 alone.
Impact fees have helped county and municipal governments, including those where shale development does not occur, repair and maintain roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, and other public infrastructure; fund projects that increase the availability of affordable housing to low-income residents; and deliver various social services and equipment upgrades for first responders.
Right here in Beaver County, for instance, impact fees – which tallied nearly $371,000 in 2013 – have jumpstarted talks of boosting area education opportunities and redeveloping brownfield sites, Rep. Jim Christiana has previously said. “I think those funds would hopefully go toward infrastructure projects that would allow for brownfield sites to be re-industrialized, to put more job creators and employers in Beaver County,” he said.
Officials in communities across Pennsylvania have expressed similar sentiments – like LeRoy Township, in Bradford County, which will be getting $150,960 in impact fee revenue for 2013. “With receiving the impact fee, we have been able to completely eliminate the debt for LeRoy Township, thereby allowing us to maintain the tax rate for the residents and to allow us to create a reserve fund for future years,” Township Supervisor Jason Krise said.
Armstrong County reportedly put their share of impact fee revenue toward its 911 department’s $1.7 million operating budget. “Since we’re able to use that money for public safety, we were able to put that money into 911, which kept us from having a shortfall in the overall budget,” said Carly Cowan, Armstrong County’s Marcellus shale coordinator.
Perhaps Lenox Township Supervisor Fred Benson, whose Susquehanna County town was recently allocated $400,000 in impact fee revenue, said it best: “I hope it stays right here. Don’t take it away. As long as the legislatures and the senate keep it here, we’ll be all right.”
Instead of abandoning these positive community impacts and economic growth, policymakers and consumers should focus on working together to find a commonsense approach that leverages the responsible use of our natural resources to encourage investment, build opportunity, and create jobs for Pennsylvanians.
Another Labor Day without Keystone XL
This coming Labor Day Weekend marks the fourth year Union construction workers will not be taking a day off from building the Keystone XL Pipeline to enjoy an end to the summer BBQ.
Six years of delays are hurting, not helping, the thousands of people who will see benefits from pipeline construction. Independent and government reviews have exhaustively documented how construction would affect the U.S. economy, especially Union workers in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
If it is built, Keystone XL will be built by Union laborers. In 2010, TransCanada signed a “Project Labor Agreement for a significant portion of U.S. construction of the proposed US$7 billion Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline Project (Keystone XL). The agreement will provide TransCanada with a capable, well-trained and ready workforce in the U.S. to construct Keystone XL. During construction, the project is expected to create over seven million hours of labor and over 13,000 new jobs for American workers.”
Union Laborers are just one story, here is a look at who else is being hurt by delays:
- Support for 42,000 Jobs. The U.S. State Department estimates construction will support over 42,000. Texas, Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma will be among the states that benefit the most.
- Income Boost. A study commissioned by Consumer Energy Alliance and prepared by the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University finds that counties in Oklahoma and Texas through which the Gulf Coast portion of KXL was constructed had a boosted personal income. According to the study in Oklahoma, “pipeline activities averaged 31 percent of personal income.”
- Support for Small Businesses. The SMU report also outlines how small businesses benefitted from the construction of the Gulf Coast Pipeline. “Local restaurants, hotels, and businesses experienced a significant boost,” the report says. “Business owners in Texas and Oklahoma reported large increases in volume due to the construction of the pipeline.” The report notes TransCanada spent approximately $6 million a month directly with local businesses.
- Gasoline for 11.6 million passenger cars per day. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the typical passenger car uses an average of 498 gallons of gas per year and a light-duty truck uses about 694 gallons during the same amount of time. If the Keystone XL Pipeline was finished, the crude oil that moves through it in one day could be refined to fuel approximately 11.6 million passenger cars or 8.3 million light duty trucks per year.
- $3.2 billion added to the U.S. GDP. Keystone XL will have an enormous positive financial affect on the economy. According to a report released by the U.S. State Department, the project would add $3.4 billion to the U.S. GDP and $2 billion in earnings.
Big Surprise for Labor Day Gas Prices
The summer season traditionally matches its intensifying outdoor temperatures with escalating gas prices, but not this year. Instead of breaking the bank at the pumps, motorists have been treated to unusually kind gas prices as the travel-heavy Labor Day holiday weekend nears.
As of Aug. 25, the average price was $3.43 per gallon, the lowest average since Feb. 26, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Survey. In fact, gas prices have fallen 6.5% since the start of the summer, USA Today said.
AAA added that the price is also the second lowest on record for this calendar day since 2010 when the national average was $2.70.
What has kept gas prices low? The nation’s ongoing energy boom, The Columbus Dispatch says.
The “rush of American petroleum” has led to the unseasonal drop in gas prices, the newspaper reported, adding that the U.S. produces more oil now than it has since 1986. Meanwhile, foreign oil imports have dropped to mid-1990s levels while oil refineries, which turn petroleum into gasoline and other fuels, run at near record levels.
USA Today agrees, observing that energy growth is helping improve America’s economy and security. They point out that, “It’s nearly impossible to overstate what a positive development this has been.” A simple way to sum up a very important concept.
Happy Labor Day!
Consumer Energy Alliance Welcomes New Member: Torch Energy Solutions
HOUSTON – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is pleased to welcome Torch Energy Solutions as its newest affiliate member.
Torch Energy Solutions is an innovative web platform where consumers can name their own electricity price on the front end. On the back end, Torch Energy works with retail electricity providers to create plans built around the consumer’s desired price. Torch Energy seeks to open up lines of communication in deregulated energy markets, bridging the gap between consumer demand and industry supply.
“TorchEnergy.com is pleased to partner with the Consumer Energy Alliance,” said Torch Energy co-founder Amir Eskafyan. “We share many common interests, including the pursuit for affordable and reliable electricity. At a time when there are many options for consumers to obtain their power supply, the Energy Alliance understands the importance in providing resources to further educate and ultimately empower consumers. We look forward to working together in an effort to simplify consumer power options.”
“We are very excited to have Torch Energy Solutions on our team,” said CEA Affiliate Relations Director Amelie Fredland. “In the wake of a dynamic regulatory landscape coupled with anticipation of uncertain price fluctuations, Torch Energy provides a unique perspective of putting the end user in control of their electricity costs. CEA champions ingenuity benefiting the consumer end of the energy spectrum and Torch’s innovative model enables consumers to become more knowledgeable and proactive about their energy expenditure.”
Torch Energy is also a proud sponsor of the 2014 Energy Day Festival.
Why Energy Issues Are Critical in Upcoming Elections
Expect to hear a lot of talk about energy issues leading up to and during this fall’s hotly contested election season.
That is the consensus after a recent poll conducted on behalf of Consumer Energy Alliance found that energy-related issues – and candidates’ stances on those issues – would determine who would be giving a victory speech on November 4th.
Voters in states with key U.S. Senate races found that energy issues like the Keystone XL pipeline are very important to how they will vote. Support for Keystone XL in the nine states polled varied from 67 percent in Kentucky to 84 percent in Colorado. But there is no question support for the pipeline project is strong. In the other seven states, support hovered at or above 70 percent.
Conclusion: Candidates who can make the case that their vote will support policies that increase energy production and keep prices affordable are going to win over their electorate.
There are scores of reasons why energy is an important issue for American voters. Scroll through to find out a few.
Your Guide to the Top 3 U.S. Oilfields
U.S. energy production continues to grow. As America produces more of its own oil and natural gas our trade deficit shrinks, while our energy security expands. We also get a better idea of just how much oil and natural gas exists within the territorial boundaries of the United States.
Whatley: North Carolina is Proposing ‘A Sensible Regulatory Regime’
Michael Whatley testified before the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission that state officials and regulators should be commended on developing proposed oil and gas regulations that will provide “a sensible regulatory regime to oversee production of its energy resources.”
Michael Whatley, Consumer Energy Alliance Before the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission
August 20, 2014
Raleigh, North CarolinaGood Morning.
My name is Michael Whatley. I am the Executive Vice President for Consumer Energy Alliance and oversee the operations of our Southeastern chapter, which includes North Carolina. I grew up in Blowing Rock and drove to Raleigh this morning from my family’s cabin outside Shelby to speak today.
CEA is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan trade association made up of more than 250 affiliates from every sector of the U.S economy and more than 400,000 individual members nationwide dedicated to developing a balanced national energy policy that will ensure adequate and affordable energy for American Energy Consumers. Our membership includes the North Carolina Farm Bureau, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Nucor Corporation, Piedmont Natural Gas and more than 22,000 individuals from North Carolina.
CEA strongly supports the responsible development of U.S. shale resources and applauds the efforts of North Carolina to move forward with a sensible regulatory regime to oversee production of its energy resources.
The recent expansion of domestic energy development has provided American energy consumers with more affordable and more accessible energy supplies that have provided a much-needed economic boost to communities across the country. This domestic energy boom has spurred the return of manufacturing to the United States with low-cost natural gas and driven overseas crude imports to their lowest levels in 15 years – moderating gasoline prices in the face of significant unrest in the Middle East and around the world. A recent report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors finds that North Carolina manufacturers are some of the primary beneficiaries of this shale development. Energy-intensive manufacturers in Greensboro, Raleigh and other metro areas from Wilmington to Asheville have added jobs and expanded operations due to increased access to low cost natural gas.
CEA supports strong state oversight of energy production which ensures that production moves forward in an environmentally sound way. We understand and share public concerns regarding shale development and believe that all drilling, water management and technological practices employed by industry should be as transparent as possible. We are all reliant on clean and available supplies of water – and can all agree that the production of oil and natural gas should be well-regulated and held to high standards.
North Carolina officials and regulators have invested significant time and effort to engage with both the public and technical experts, as well as worked with other states to determine the best manner of updating existing regulations to cover hydraulic fracturing. CEA is confident that these proposed regulations will allow state regulators to protect the environment and oversee energy production that will provide significant benefits for North Carolina families, farms and businesses.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak today and applaud the Commission for moving forward to allow responsible energy production in North Carolina.
Thank you.
