Energy Decisions for the future - Protecting the Environment
Over the past several decades, residential and commercial electricity demand has increased as more uses for electricity have emerged. At home, big screen televisions, computers and more electronics contribute to the increasing power demand. As disposable income has increased over the years, it has lead to a growth in the service industry and overall economic growth. Restaurants, hotels and other commercial establishments add to the growing need for more power. During the next 25 years, leading authorities predict the demand for electricity will grow by 41 percent.
In order to meet these ongoing and future needs of Iowans, there is a lot of talk these days about the best potential energy solutions for the future of our state. As the solutions are being discussed, member-owners are going to continue hearing more about climate change issues, energy efficiency, renewable energy and the need for more base-load power generation in the form of new coal-fired power plants.
Iowa’s electric cooperatives embrace economic growth opportunities and believe the solutions for Iowa’s energy future begin with taking a common sense approach to making energy decisions. Recently, the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives held its annual meeting for all the electric cooperatives in the state. Their theme, “Powering Iowa with Common Sense Energy,” extends far beyond being just a topic for the annual meeting. Rather, during these active and changing times in our industry, it reflects the cooperative philosophy of doing business.
Our common sense approach to making business decisions ensures that we are doing what is in the best interests of our member-owners. As our member-owners, you trust us to do the right thing. Doing the right thing means doing what we can to protect the environment while protecting the economic vitality of our communities; keeping rates affordable; and delivering reliable electricity. It means doing what makes sense and what’s in the best interests of our member-owners.
One area our member-owners will be hearing more about in the coming months deals with energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is something the cooperatives have been doing for decades. In fact, Iowa’s electric cooperatives were the first utilities in the state to begin offering energy efficiency programs to their consumers. Today, we continue to set high standards in this area, by leading the statewide industry in automated meter reading and geothermal installations. While we do energy efficiency very well, we’ll continue to be challenged to do more in this area and reach out to our member-owners to also take a more active role in the efficient use of energy. We can all make a positive environmental impact by using energy wisely and learning more about ways to save energy.
We know this new generation of energy issues will bring about challenges – not only for the energy industry as a whole – but also for our member-owners and communities. However, in these changing times, our opportunities can indeed be greater than our challenges. You can count on Access Energy Cooperative to embrace, “Powering Iowa with Common Sense Energy.”