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Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates Agree to August 29 Energy Forum

Richmond Virginia skyline

Arlington, VA –  Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) will host the “2013 Virginia Energy & Opportunity Forum: A Discussion with Virginia’s Gubernatorial Candidates” on August 29th where both Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe will engage with energy consumers and producers in a wide-ranging discussion about Virginia’s energy future.

Register to Attend

The forum will provide both candidates an opportunity to outline their energy platforms and answer questions from energy consumers. In addition, two expert panels will explore how to ensure access to affordable, reliable electricity, and Virginia’s opportunities for offshore oil, natural gas and renewable energy development.

“Whether you’re a manufacturer in Virginia Beach or a stay-at-home mom in Charlottesville, the cost of energy has a huge impact on your everyday life,” said Adam Waldeck, Executive Director of CEA Southeast. “Ensuring access to affordable, reliable energy will be a major responsibility of Virginia’s next Governor, and we’re excited for voters that both candidates will take the time to discuss how they plan to do that.”

WHO:             Consumer Energy Alliance, Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe

WHAT:           Virginia Energy & Opportunity Forum

WHEN:           Thursday, August 29, 2013 from 9-11a.m. ET

WHERE:        GMU School of Law Auditorium located at 3301 Fairfax Drive in Arlington

August’s forum follows a series of other regional CEA Southeast events, including an offshore energy forum in Myrtle Beach, SC in May with former Speaker Newt Gingrich and an upcoming regional electricity forum this September in Nashville.

Pipelines Flourish as Keystone Lingers

Even as the Keystone XL pipeline languishes in the regulatory limbo of the Obama administration, as many as 37 other pipeline projects are nearing completion or are under way.

The burst of pipeline activity is in response to new U.S. and Canadian oil production which shifts demand and supply centers and requires additional investments in oil and gas transportation. Even as more and more crude oil is being transported by rail and truck, pipelines remain the safest and lest expensive way to transport petroleum products. Many of the projects are known as “reversals” where existing pipelines reverse their flow, and change the product they carry. The Longhorn Pipeline reversed from carrying refined products from Houston to El Paso, to carrying cruse oil from the Eagle Ford region of south Texas to refineries in the Houston area.

A few other pipelines projects under way include:

PROJECT: West Texas crude system

OPERATOR: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: Three different projects to bring Permian basin crude to Gulf Coast market. West Texas to Houston line – 40,000 bpd, expandable to 44,000 bpd, will carry West Texas Sour and West Texas Intermediate at Midland; West Texas to Longview Access – 30,000 bpd, to carry Permian crudes to the Mid-Valley pipeline to the Midwest; West Texas to Nederland Access – 40,000 bpd

STARTUP: West Texas to Houston operational; West Texas to Longview to start up at the end of May 2013; West Texas to Nederland delayed by Exxon Mobil Corp’s shutdown of its Pegasus crude oil pipeline that carries heavy Canadian crude to Texas from Illinois. The Sunoco line is connected to the Exxon line, which shut in late March when it spilled 5,000 barrels into an Arkansas housing subdivision. Sunoco is awaiting word from Exxon on restart.

PROJECT: Permian Express, Phase I

OPERATOR: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: Wichita Falls, Texas to Nederland, Texas

CAPACITY: Initial capacity will be 90,000 bpd, expected to reach 150,000 bpd. Phase II 200,000 bpd, under development, would go from Colorado City, Texas, to Nederland and further east to St. James, Louisiana and Louisiana refineries.

STARTUP: Initial 90,000 bpd in June 2013, up to 150,000 bpd in late 2013 or early 2014.

PROJECT: Eagle Ford Pipeline

OPERATOR: Plains All American

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: 140-mile crude line and condensate from Eagle Ford production in Gardendale, Texas, to refineries in Three Rivers and Corpus Christi; and a new 35-mile segment from Three Rivers to Enterprise Products Partners’ Lyssy station in Wilson County.

CAPACITY: Targeted 350,000 bpd take-away from western Eagle Ford to Three Rivers/Corpus Christi, plus a marine terminal facility at Corpus Christi and 1.8 million barrels of operational storage capacity across the system.

STARTUP: 140-mile pipeline operational; Corpus Christi dock in service in June 2013; and Lyssy line in service in August 2013.

PROJECT: Gardendale Gathering System expansion

OPERATOR: Plains All American

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: Four crude oil gathering pipelines, a total of 90 miles in length, extending from Dimmitt and La Salle counties to Plains’ Gardendale Terminal in South Texas. Will connect at Gardendale to long-haul pipelines that deliver crude to refineries in Three Rivers, Corpus Christi and the Houston area. Project includes construction of new Eagle Ford condensate stabilization facility adjacent to Gardendale terminal. Also a new 40-mile Gulf Coast crude oil pipeline originating from Plains’ Ten Mile terminal in Mobile, Alabama.

CAPACITY: 115,000 bpd of incremental gathering capacity; condensate facility 80,000 bpd.

COST: US$190-million for all three projects

STARTUP: Gardendale expansion completed in stages from autumn 2012 through the first half of 2013; 40,000 bpd of condensate facility started end 2012, second half in first quarter 2013; 40-mile Gulf Coast line to Alabama in service fourth quarter 2013.

PROJECT: Permian Basin Expansion Projects

OPERATOR: Plains All American

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: Various links extending, expanding crude oil lines in Permian Basin, West Texas.

CAPACITY: 145 miles of expansions of existing system to add total of 150,000 bpd in capacity in Texas, plus projects in southeast New Mexico

COST: US$250-million

START-UP: Late 2012 through 2013

PROJECT: Houma-to-Houston pipeline reversal

OPERATOR: Shell Pipeline LP

ORIGIN/DESTINATION: Houma, Louisiana, to Houston, Texas; reversal will run from Houston to Houma. Initial phase to allow deliveries of crude from connecting pipelines and terminals in Houston to Nederland and Port Arthur started up in January 2013; second phase extending reversal to move crude from Texas to Louisiana to be operational by the end of 2013. Phase Three expansion, adding additional pumping capability to push the line to its 250,000 bpd capacity, to be done by early 2014.

CAPACITY: 250,000 bpd

COST: US$100-million

STARTUP: First phase operational; Phase Two end 2013; Phase Three 2014.

The Financial Post has the complete story.

CEA’s Whatley Breaks Down Jobs #s on KXL

CEA Executive Vice President Michael Whatley is keeping a close eye on the latest developments around the permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline.   This week he sat down for an interview with E&E TV.

Monica Trauzzi: Michael, the President made news earlier this week with comments he made on the Keystone XL pipeline, specifically relating to the job creation potential of the project. The numbers he cited in an interview with The New York Times are somewhat different than those that were previously cited by the State Department. So in the interview he said the pipeline may create maybe 2,000 jobs during construction and then 50 to 100 afterwards. What do you think the motivation was behind the remarks and the specific numbers that he cited?

 

Michael Whatley: Well, I don’t know what the President’s specific motivation was in terms of why he wanted to talk about how this would not necessarily be a significant job creator. Certainly this is a major construction project, you know, $5.3 billion dollar investment in the US economy by TransCanada without any federal funding or loans or anything along those lines. And $2 billion of that is going to go directly into wages. When we look at the job creation numbers that TransCanada has put out, they match up very well with what the State Department put out in the last version of the environmental reviews that they’ve put in there. TransCanada has said all along that this project is going to create about 9,000 jobs, and this is very similar to the 9,000 jobs that were created when they built the first Keystone project very similar in length, very similar in terms of a two-year construction job. So I think that those were numbers that the State Department was relying on in the draft supplemental EIS, and those are what we’re going to be working from.

Pennsylvania Legislators Queried on Proposed Marcellus Moratorium

Pittsburgh, PA – Energy Consumer advocate Consumer Energy Alliance – Mid Atlantic is asking Pennsylvania state legislators if they agree or disagree with a proposal made in June by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to impose a ban on natural gas exploration. In a letter sent today to legislators from CEA-Mid Atlantic executive director invited legislators to share their support or opposition to the party’s proposed ban.  CEA-Mid Atlantic is tallying results on its website.  

Full Text of Letter sent to Pennsylvania Democratic legislators.

I am the executive director for Consumer Energy Alliance–Mid Atlantic. Our organization is a non-profit, non-partisan voice for the energy consumer. Our membership consists of small businesses, manufacturers, academia, conservation groups, energy companies and individual energy consumers.

Did you know the Pennsylvania Democratic Party passed a resolution in June supporting a statewide moratorium on hydraulic fracturing? If turned from a party plank into law the ban would cripple the fastest growing economic engine in Pennsylvania, the oil and natural gas industry.

We can both agree the natural gas industry is an economic driver for the Marcellus Shale region. In 2011, Washington County had the third highest employment surge of any county in the nation. The Aker Philadelphia shipyard is rehiring 800 workers to help build two new tankers in response to domestic oil and gas production. Even better, job growth projections in Pennsylvania over the next ten years exceed the projected national average.

The positive impact goes beyond jobs. The Pittsburgh International Airport is lowering its fees to better compete for flights because of newfound energy development revenues. Across the state, Pennsylvania businesses are more competitive since natural gas drives down their cost of operations.

Many critics are raising concerns, as they should, about safety. Here is the latest. A federal study monitoring wells in Greene County conducted by the National Energy Technology Laboratory showed no evidence of chemical contamination of local drinking water.

If you are like me, this plank of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party platform alarms you. You may even agree with most of the policies advocated by your party, but understand it is ok to disagree with a particular policy position.

Considering the merits of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, CEA-Mid Atlantic invites you to make your position known by selecting one of the following statements:

__ I am a proud member of the Democratic Party, but I disagree with my party’s proposal for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.

__ I support the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.

As surveys are returned, CEA-Mid Atlantic will post the results on our website. However, we urge you to answer prior to the August 15, 2013 deadline.

Thank you for time and consideration. If you have additional questions or would like additional information on the Consumer Energy Alliance please feel free to reach me at mbutler@consumerenergyalliance.org or at (412) 448-6851.

Sincerely,

Mike Butler

Consumer Energy Alliance, Mid Atlantic

 

 

Pennsylvania Legislators Queried on Proposed Marcellus Moratorium

Pittsburgh, PA – Energy Consumer advocate Consumer Energy Alliance – Mid Atlantic is asking Pennsylvania state legislators if they agree or disagree with a proposal made in June by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to impose a ban on natural gas exploration. In a letter sent today to legislators from CEA-Mid Atlantic executive director invited legislators to share their support or opposition to the party’s proposed ban.

Full Text of Letter sent to Pennsylvania legislators.

I am the executive director for Consumer Energy Alliance–Mid Atlantic. Our organization is a non-profit, non-partisan voice for the energy consumer. Our membership consists of small businesses, manufacturers, academia, conservation groups, energy companies and individual energy consumers.

Did you know the Pennsylvania Democratic Party passed a resolution in June supporting a statewide moratorium on hydraulic fracturing? If turned from a party plank into law the ban would cripple the fastest growing economic engine in Pennsylvania, the oil and natural gas industry.

We can both agree the natural gas industry is an economic driver for the Marcellus Shale region. In 2011, Washington County had the third highest employment surge of any county in the nation. The Aker Philadelphia shipyard is rehiring 800 workers to help build two new tankers in response to domestic oil and gas production. Even better, job growth projections in Pennsylvania over the next ten years exceed the projected national average.

The positive impact goes beyond jobs. The Pittsburgh International Airport is lowering its fees to better compete for flights because of newfound energy development revenues. Across the state, Pennsylvania businesses are more competitive since natural gas drives down their cost of operations.

Many critics are raising concerns, as they should, about safety. Here is the latest. A federal study monitoring wells in Greene County conducted by the National Energy Technology Laboratory showed no evidence of chemical contamination of local drinking water.

If you are like me, this plank of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party platform alarms you. You may even agree with most of the policies advocated by your party, but understand it is ok to disagree with a particular policy position.

Considering the merits of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, CEA-Mid Atlantic invites you to make your position known by selecting one of the following statements:

__ I am a proud member of the Democratic Party, but I disagree with my party’s proposal for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.

__ I support the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.

As surveys are returned, CEA-Mid Atlantic will post the results on our website. However, we urge you to answer prior to the August 15, 2013 deadline.

Thank you for time and consideration. If you have additional questions or would like additional information on the Consumer Energy Alliance please feel free to reach me at mbutler@consumerenergyalliance.org or at (412) 448-6851.

Sincerely,

Mike Butler

Consumer Energy Alliance, Mid Atlantic

 

NOTE: A similar version was proposed to GOP members with the statement: “I disagree with any political party that supports a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing”

 

 

 

$3k in Household Expenditures Going to Gasoline

Feel like your spending more and more on gasoline? Well, you are, and spending more each year.  The U.S. Department of Energy keeps track of an annual estimate of how much of American’s household income is spent on gasoline.  In 2012 that amount reached $2,912.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, based on data from EIA, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and U.S. Census Bureau.

EIA.gov

Gasoline expenditures in 2012 for the average U.S. household reached $2,912, or just under 4% of income before taxes, according to EIA estimates. This was the highest estimated percentage of household income spent on gasoline in nearly three decades, with the exception of 2008, when the average household spent a similar amount. Although overall gasoline consumption has decreased in recent years, a rise in average gasoline prices has led to higher overall household gasoline expenditures. However, these expenditures as a percentage of overall household income are still low when compared to the early 1980s, when the estimated portion of household income spent on gasoline surpassed 5%. Although travel per household has increased significantly since the early 1980s, vehicle efficiency has also risen significantly, reducing the amount of gasoline used per mile.

Efficiency gains have accelerated in recent years, such that total U.S. gasoline consumption fell in 2011 to 134.2 billion gallons, its lowest level since 2001. However, at the same time, Bureau of Labor Statistics’s average city retail gasoline price rose 26.1% in 2011, and another 3.3% in 2012, when it reached $3.70 per gallon. The effect of the higher prices in 2011 and 2012 outweighed the effect of reduced consumption. As a result, expenditures increased to a record annual average of $2,655 per household in 2011, rising to an estimated $2,912 in 2012. The 26.1% yearly increase in 2011 was six times greater than the 3.4% rise in nominal household income. Additionally, the 3.3% estimated gasoline price rise in 2012 outpaced the 2.9% estimated increase in income.

Independent Studies Show KXL Construction Creates Jobs

The New York Times published an interview with President Obama online on Saturday, July 27th, where he speculates on how many jobs building the Keystone XL pipeline will create.

President Obama:

“There is no evidence that that’s true. The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.”

In January 2013, Consumer Energy Alliance partnered with Creighton University economist Ernie Goss to evaluate KXL’s impact on job creation just in Nebraska.  The resulting study found “The project would create 5,500 jobs during construction and 302 jobs afterward. The figures include both direct and indirect jobs, paying an average annual salary of $38,000, Goss said.” (Source)

The CEA/Goss Study found 5,500 jobs would be created in Nebraska alone. The U.S. State Department contradicts President Obama’s claim.  From its Draft Supplemental EIS released this spring the U.S. State Department estimates over 42,100 jobs nationwide will be impacted.

State Dept: 

Including direct, indirect, and induced effects, the proposed Project would potentially support approximately 42,100 average annual jobs across the United States over a 1- to 2- year construction period (of which, approximately 3,900 would be directly employed in construction activities). This employment would potentially translate to approximately $2.05 billion in earnings. 

David Holt, President of CEA said:

Politics Aside, Independent Studies Show KXL Construction Creates Jobs. The president cannot give lip service to the economy on a Wednesday then ignore an opportunity to create jobs on a Saturday. The Keystone XL pipeline is a construction project that will put paychecks on the table for union and non union workers.

Consumer Energy Alliance Welcomes New Member: Palmetto Agribusiness Council

For Immediate Release: July 25, 2013

HOUSTON – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is pleased to welcome the Palmetto Agribusiness Council (PABC) as its newest affiliate member.

Formed in 1999, PABC has worked to create an environment where agribusiness can grow, prosper and compete in the marketplace of the future. Its members include representatives from forestry, row crops, finance, insurance, poultry, livestock, nursery and landscape, utilities and more.

“A clean, plentiful and affordable energy supply is a major component of the agribusiness industry’s ability to economically produce, harvest and transport essential products to consumers,” said Palmetto Agribusiness Council Executive Director Cathy Novinger. “Our industry, like many others, would benefit from a greater supply of domestically produced energy, which includes exploring our offshore drilling potential and the use of different fuel alternatives.  PABC is proud to be a part of the efforts of CEA in finding solutions to meet the energy needs of Americans.”

“We are thrilled to welcome PABC as our newest partner,” said Adam Waldeck, Executive Director of CEA Southeast. “They’ve been a strong and vocal advocate for a number of vitally important issues, from opening up the Atlantic coast for offshore exploration to building the Keystone XL pipeline, both of which would help to decrease energy costs for the South Carolina consumers and strengthen American energy security.”

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) brings together consumers, producers and manufacturers to engage in a meaningful dialogue about America’s energy future. Our mission is to help ensure stable prices for consumers and energy security. We believe energy development is something that touches everyone in our nation, and thus it is necessary for all consumers to actively engage in the conversation about how we develop and diversify our energy resources and energy’s importance to the economy. CEA promotes a thoughtful dialogue to help produce our abundant energy supply, and balance our energy needs with our nation’s environmental and conservation goals.

For more information on Palmetto Agribusiness Council, visit their website.

For more information on Consumer Energy Alliance, please visit ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org or contact Amelie Hereford at (713) 337-8833, ahereford@consmerenergyalliance.org.

Nebraska County Turns Back Anti-KXL Resolution

Several Nebraska counties are considering Keystone XL resolutions.   The most recent, York County which is located between Lincoln and Grand Island along I-80, joined another county, Boyd County, in disapproving an anti-keystone XL measure.

Michael Whatley, who is monitoring KXL developments for Consumer Energy Alliance urged other county commissioners to oppose any measure.

“We are very pleased to see that the County Commission voted down the resolution. We believe that the vote signifies that Commissioners recognize that Keystone XL will bring tremendous benefits to both York County and all of Nebraska in terms of jobs created, economic activity and increased government revenues – as well as bring about lower gasoline and diesel prices throughout the state – and hope that the other county commissions contemplating similar resolutions will come to the same conclusion.”

Lincoln Star-Journal

YORK — The chairman of the York County commissioners cast the deciding vote on Tuesday against a resolution sought by opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The 3-2 outcome was witnessed by an overflow audience made up mostly of supporters to a statement of opposition to crude oil pipelines. Many of the same people were on hand two weeks ago when Kurt Bulgrin was absent and the four other members of the board were deadlocked.

Despite the efforts of the Good Life Alliance since then to recast language to win board support, Bulgrin appeared to arrive with his mind made up.

“I’ve heard very little from my constituents over this,” he said before the vote. “If I’ve heard anything at all, it’s ‘Don’t adopt this resolution.’”

 

Omaha World-Herald

 A similar opposition resolution, though, failed in another county, Boyd County.

….

Bulgrin said the York County Attorney’s Office had recommended rejection of the pipeline resolution because it could violate the federal interstate commerce clause. He added that constituents in his eastern York County district didn’t oppose the pipeline.

Utility Commissioners Get Educated on Agriculture

Consumer Energy Alliance on Monday hosted the latest in it’s series of energy policy luncheons with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, (NARUC) at their summer meeting in Denver. The CEA hosted luncheon featured Chad Vorthmann, Executive Vice President of the Colorado Farm Bureau, a CEA member organization. Vorthmann discussed energy and agriculture related issues including oil and gas well setback rules, renewable portfolio mandates on rural electric coops, endangered species reform, and electric transmission projects.

“Ultimately, energy policy has the potential to disproportionately effect agriculture producers,” said Vorthmann. “We need to do all we can to minimize the impacts that poor energy policy can have on our family farmers and ranchers.”

He also commented on the importance of the agriculture and food industry, noting with a projected global population of 9 billion people by 2050, farmers will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than they have for the past 4,000 years! And that with 98% of farms still owned and operated by families, its important to reduce regulatory impacts that can hurt farmers’ bottom lines.

NARUC luncheons provide CEA will the opportunity to connect utility commissioners with energy consumers and educate them on aspects of the energy industry that they may not be familiar with.

“As a former regulatory Commissioner I appreciate the need for this kind of outreach and education.” said Dave Harbour, CEA board member and a NARUC commissioner emeritus.  “Briefings and written pleadings from consumers, utilities and producers have always helped me better understand the issues upon which good state and national energy policies are based.”

NARUC holds three meetings a year, and CEA has hosted a luncheon at the last seven meetings.

“Utility commissioners have great influence on the direction of state energy policy and CEA is working to insure they understand exactly how the decisions they make can effect energy consumers and our CEA members,” said CEA Senior Vice President Andrew Browning.

Photo by Dave Harbour

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