Electric Co-op Today

LAS VEGAS—Co-op communicators must keep key messages in front of lawmakers and consumer-members alike as climate change legislation advances in Congress, NRECA CEO Glenn English told more than 500 participants gathered here May 11–14 for the Connect 2009 Conference & Expo.

Three critical points must be emphasized, said English, who spoke on a live video link while staying close to Capitol Hill as House members prepared for an upcoming committee markup.

“We’ve got to make sure our elected officials and consumers understand that we’re running out of generating capacity and that the technology doesn’t exist today to enable us to remove carbon from electric generating plants,” he underscored.

“And there’s a real question whether electric bills will be affordable to many consumers across the country if elected officials don’t exercise caution.”

Others have suggested that raising electricity costs would help cut consumption, and that auctioning off emissions allowances would raise billions of dollars for other programs, such as health care, English said, noting that would make electric co-ops federal tax collectors.

“We don’t feel this is acceptable and we’re fighting against it,” he said.

The Our Energy, Our Future campaign is an important element of the effort to find an affordable solution to climate change, the CEO said, noting that nearly 300,000 co-op consumer-members have sent e-mails to their elected officials.

Tags: Climate Change Legislation, CONNECT, Dena G. Stoner, Our Energy Our Future, Social Media