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A Solution in Search of a Problem – Don’t Mess with Missouri’s Electricity Market

St. Louis's Gateway Arch National Park

Turning over power on policy from any state to the federal government is already a controversial stance, but when it comes to energy policy there’s a lot at stake. Who knows your needs better than your local government? Particularly when it comes to affordable, reliable energy needs? Brydon Ross, Vice President of State Affairs for Consumer Energy Alliance thinks Missouri should take special care to understand the Senate Joint Resolution bill 34 (SJR 34).

“This legislation is an invitation to potentially wrestle control of the state’s energy market from PSC Commissioners, who are appointed by Missouri’s Governor and confirmed by Missouri’s State Senate, and hand it to distant officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the guise of deregulation. We’ve all seen what happens when D.C. politics get involved in energy policy – it’s a recipe for gridlock and problems.”

Read more – The Missouri Times

Consumer Group Applauds Joint Cooperation on Bill Addressing Key Infrastructure Protections

Capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky

Louisville, KY – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading consumer energy advocate, released the following statement after the Kentucky House Energy and Natural Resources Committee agreed to unanimously advance HB-44, a critical pipeline and infrastructure protection bill, to the floor. CEA Vice President of State Affairs Brydon Ross said:

“We were extremely pleased to see the Committee unanimously approved the bill while also taking into account some of the floor amendments proposed by Chairman Jim Gooch that will help ensure that legitimate and lawful free speech rights are protected while also preventing harm by those with harmful intent targeted at our critical energy infrastructure,” Ross said. “This highlights the exemplary work that can be achieved when people work across the aisle together for the greater good of our Commonwealth.”

“It’s never easy to address Kentucky’s changing energy industry, economic issues, and job situation, but we simply can’t sit by idly without ensuring our community is protected from the tampering and criminal mischief being carried out by anti-energy radicals here and across the country.”

“With the bill headed to the House floor, we look forward to its final passage and swift consideration by the Senate.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading consumer advocate for energy, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households and businesses across the country. CEA works daily to encourage people across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our energy needs. Learn more at ConsumerEnergyAlliance.org.

Contact:
Emily Haggstrom
P: 720-582-0242
ehaggstrom@consumerenergyalliance.org

 

 

 

New Jersey EMP Continues to Draw Mixed Support as Ratepayers are Still Left in the Dark

Natural gas used for cooking

Currently, New Jersey’s main energy sources are nuclear plants and natural gas. A shift to sole renewable energy is an ambitious goal, but the cost to residents has yet to be revealed.

“But Consumer Energy Alliance’s Mike Butler, director of the organization’s Mid-Atlantic region, said he’s concerned about the impact it would have on families, businesses, and the economically disadvantaged.”

Read more – WHYY.org

Virginia Senate Reviews Fracking Ban Bill

Oil Workers Climb a Rig

Virginia – Fracking has gotten a bad reputation, despite many studies over several years proving that it is a safe and healthy process for extracting natural gas. The biggest threat Virginia faces in a fracking ban is actually the cost to residents.

“According to a 2018 report from the Consumer Energy Alliance, the fracking revolution has caused natural gas prices to plummet in Virginia. Consequently, residents and businesses in the Old Dominion saved $10.8 billion from 2006 to 2016.”

Read more – The Heartland Institute

Texas: Oil & Gas Potential Slowdown?

Texas State Capitol building in downtown Austin USA

David Holt, Consumer Energy Alliance President talks to Houston Texas KTRH News Radio 740 AM in Houston. When it comes to the oil and gas industry, like all industries, nothing is a guarantee. Particularly when it comes to predicting the future. While the Texas Oil and Gas Association reports that the industry paid a record level of taxes because of the oil boom, there is a potential for a slowdown.

“David Holt with the Consumer Energy Alliance says that nothing in life is guaranteed… And Holt says outside influences could have an impact. “We have tremendous opportunities provided that the economy continues to hum along at a robust level, and provided that we continue to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.”

Read more – KTRH.iHeartRadio and listen below.

 

New Jersey Releases Energy Master Plan to Mixed Results

Downtown Clinton, New Jersey

The New Jersey Energy Master Plan (EMP) was released on Monday, January 27. Several organizations question whether the plan is taking into account the energy consumers in the state. One of the biggest flaws is that New Jersey has yet to reveal what the cost of this plan is to ratepayers.

One consumer advocate with ties to natural gas interests, the Consumer Energy Alliance, said yesterday it was “carefully reviewing” the master plan. Residents in the state, it added, should be “concerned” that the costs of the transition hadn’t been analyzed earlier on.

Read more – E&E News (Subscription Required)

Consumer Group Warns Public that new Energy Master Plan Doesn’t take Into Account all Families, Businesses

Liberty State Park

Trenton, NJ – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) following today’s release of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan said that all New Jersey residents should be concerned because it is being presented prior to any public analysis or discussion on the costs the Plan would have on families, businesses and the Garden State’s least affluent people, CEA Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler said.

“While we support greater inclusion of renewable energy sources in New Jersey’s energy mix, it is highly worrisome that the state was unwilling to make the cost of this plan on ratepayers’ public,” Butler said in a statement. “In fact, the group that advised the state on the plan is the same one that provided the cost analysis after the public comment period for the EMP closed. That’s a risky proposition for people in New Jersey, who already pay the 11th highest residential electricity rates in the country.”

“Given that New Jersey is facing a potential natural gas shortfall that could leave it without electricity on the coldest winter days, any change in energy policy must ensure that the laudable goals of environmental stewardship do not come at the expense of the economy or New Jersey citizens, which impacts everyone in the state from families and farmers to businesses small and large.

“CEA will be carefully reviewing the Energy Master Plan and its cost assumptions over the coming days, and encourages all stakeholders to do the same – and let the state know that a cleaner environment and a sound energy policy that provides affordable, reliable power are not mutually exclusive.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading consumer advocate for energy, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, our mission is to help ensure stable prices and energy security for households and businesses across the country. CEA works daily to encourage people across the nation to seek sensible, realistic and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
P: 202-657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Top 5 Energy Stories This Week

energy

This week, we saw the Doomsday Clock change to 1 minute 40 seconds. The cult classic Mean Girls’ Broadway show is coming to the big screen 16 years after its original movie debut. And a preview of this year’s Super Bowl commercials has been released. While these stories and more entertained us all week, we just had to share our favorite energy headlines. As always, if you missed last week’s list, find them here.

Clouds Over Mountain Forest

5The Energy Information Administration predicts that U.S. emissions will continue to drop through 2021.

Carbon related emissions decreased by 2.1% in 2019, and they are predicted to drop another 2% this year, with yet another 1.5% reduction occurring in 2021. If this forecast continues to hold, energy-related CO2 emissions will be at a level we haven’t seen since 1991 – a win for everyone who is following the climate. EIA shares their predictions here.

Father Playing with Kids

4A shrinking industry sector causes real turmoil for local workers depending on jobs to make ends meet.

Regardless of industry, when business shrinks, jobs are at risk. New technologies will occasionally replace positions, but when communities aren’t able to upgrade before a shutdown, whole families will go without paychecks. Reuters hones in on a local Philadelphia community’s loss.

Wind Farm

3One of the biggest challenges that the wind energy sector sees is that there is still a lot of waste produced by the industry.

Vestas announced on Monday that it was hoping to create zero-waste turbines within the next 20 years. They are hoping to reveal the new “waste-management strategy” in the next couple of years. From manufacturing, maintenance and operation the waste produced by turbines is projected to hit over 43 million tons by 2050. CNBC provides the solution set by Vestas here.

High power electricity grid powering the city

2The 10th Annual National Conference on Microgrids is set for March in Boston.

Microgrids are quickly becoming more mainstream. Pittsburgh airport announced in October of its plan to power their entire property through a microgrid. A California Native American Tribe saved their community’s power amid surging blackouts in the windy, fire ridden state with a microgrid. Learn more about the future of microgrids at the 2020 conference.

Semi trucks on the road

1The coronavirus – while it sounds like something you’d catch by the beach in Mexico, strangely it could have more significant implications on fuel consumption.

Following the SARS scare in the early 2000s, we saw a drop in fuel consumption. A threat of an outbreak like this leads people to travel less. In other words these result in impacting the transportation sector’s bottom line. S&P Global puts in a bit more perspective here.

New York: Restricting Natural Gas in Westchester is a Bad Play. Here’s Why

New York City Manhattan at Night

Energy policies across the country continue to get stricter without keeping the consumer in mind. Wendy Hijos, Consumer Energy Alliance New York State Director explains exactly why this is so detrimental.

“Readers should know that National Grid and Con Ed warned the public for nearly a year that without new pipelines to bring gas to New York’s growing market, they cannot connect new customers in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County without the supply to back it up.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration is demonstrating what goes wrong when things that belong together are kept apart. In this case, it’s the use of natural gas, a critical part of our energy future that is being kept from the public by short-sighted policies that exclude this clean, safe energy resource strictly to appease certain special-interest viewpoints. And it does so at the cost to New York’s families and businesses.”

Read more – Iohud

Lake Okeechobee: Why Water Level Matters to South Florida

Sitting on the beach during sunset

Activists have bullied the Army Corps of Engineers to lower Lake Okeechobee’s water levels. The idea comes from preventing the spread of algal blooms, which appears to be noteworthy, but the repercussions could destitute a community.

Lake Okeechobee’s levels matter because it’s South Florida’s safety net. When there is a drought, those waters recharge the aquifer that provides the drinking water for South Florida.

 

The major risk is that the Corps will stick with the lower lake levels permanently because of activist-driven pressure. That would all but stop the ability to deliver any water south of the lake for any beneficial purpose, increase the risk of saltwater intrusion in our aquifers and impinge on the water supplies of those who rely on the lake.

Read more – Sun Sentinel

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