Now's the Time to Make Your Voice Heard
As electric cooperatives strive to meet our present and future energy needs, we are asking lawmakers of all stripes what they’ll do to ensure that consumers continue to enjoy safe, reliable, and affordable electric power.
Today, many policy-makers and elected officials believe renewable energy, like wind, solar, and biomass provide the solution to addressing climate change and establishing energy independence. But to keep the lights on and electric rates affordable, electric cooperatives will need to make use of all available generation resources, including renewables, nuclear power, and fossil fuels like coal and natural gas that use the latest environmental technology.
Our nation’s electric system, commonly referred to as the “grid,” relies on a network of power plants, transmission lines, and distribution facilities woven together in an intricate web to provide us with electricity. When a piece of this puzzle doesn’t fit or goes missing, brownoutsand blackouts can occur.
Over the next 22 years, demand for electricity is predicted to increase 30 percent, and our country has used up the excess power capacity it once had available. That means we will need to build new power plants, all at a time when costs for construction materials such as steel, copper, and concrete, and fossil fuels like natural gas and coal are skyrocketing. The challenges we face are immense.
As a result, electric cooperatives are urging lawmakers to invest in technology that will allow us:
to help all households become more energy efficient,
fast-track plans for building new transmission lines–connecting rural regions where renewable electricity is generated to the population centers where it’s consumed,
cut through the red tape that prevents construction of new nuclear power plants (which emit only clean water vapor), and
capture and permanently store carbon from coal-fired power plants (as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for contributing to global climate change).
These steps will not only strengthen our nation’s electric infrastructure and head off an impending electric power crisis, but significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Even better, they will help ensure that any climate change goals ultimately adopted remain politically and economically sustainable over the decades necessary to make a difference.
Now’s the time to make your voice heard. In addition to casting your vote on November 4, you can also help educate and inform lawmakers about these concerns. Electric cooperatives are currently engaged in a grassroots campaign called “Our Energy, Our Future: A Dialogue With America.” Nearly 400,000 letters and e-mails have already been sent to Congress by your fellow consumers from all across the United States, each asking critical energy questions. To join the effort, visit
www.ourenergy.coop and start asking questions.