Electric Co-op Today

As Congress moves forward on climate change, NRECA CEO Glenn English said the Our Energy, Our Future campaign will be crucial to making sure the result is legislation that co-ops and their consumer-members can live with.

Speaking on the April 16 Web conference, “Our Energy, Our Future: Meeting the Legislative Challenge,” English said lawmakers need to see the “bigger picture” of how to produce sufficient electricity to meet demands, while keeping that power affordable.

He said Our Energy, Our Future, along with other efforts—including next month’s NRECA Legislative Conference—will help bring home the message to lawmakers that “they need to work closely with us to get this job done.”

English cautioned that there needs to be a “common sense” solution that avoids unacceptable options, such as a cap-and-trade auction or having the Environmental Protection Agency regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.

“The Clean Air Act was not designed in any way to apply” to carbon dioxide, said English, who was a congressman when the measure was last overhauled in 1990.

“We’re in effect trying to thread a needle here between some very oppressive proposals in Congress that would be very consumer unfriendly, and, on the other hand, dealing with the Clean Air Act being triggered within the administration,” he said.

English also noted the need of G&Ts and other power producers to work ahead. “We need some certainty so we can do some planning and begin to deal with the demands we’re going to have over the next 20 years,” he said.

Tags: Climate Change Legislation, Grassroots, Our Energy Our Future