March 2009
Climate Change Electric Rate Increases
Contact Your Legislator
Please select which number best represents how much you want your electric rates to go up over the next five years or so due to CO2 regulation:
- 50 Percent
- 75 Percent
- 100 Percent
- Let the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) choose
- Let Congress Choose
YOU DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE TO VOTE. IN FACT, YOU WON’T GET TO VOTE. WE ARE INFORMING YOU ABOUT THE VERY REAL PROSPECT OF ELECTRIC RATE INCREASES THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE CONTROL OF MOUNTAIN VIEW’S BOARD AND STAFF.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is our national trade association which monitors lawmakers’ activities and advocates on behalf of over 900 rural electric cooperatives (like Mountain View) across the country. NRECA recently informed electric co-op leaders that House lawmakers plan to move climate change legislation regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) out of committee by Memorial Day. It would then move to the full House and then on to the Senate. This legislation is on a fast track, and if the Congress and the President can’t strike a deal, it is highly likely that CO2 regulation will be turned over to policy makers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal agency, to determine the process. Either way, you will see a dramatic increase in your electric rates.
NRECA is adamant that a “Climate Change Plan” is inevitable. Congress prefers to empower Wall Street via a “cap and trade” scheme as their preferred method of regulation. Cap and trade (or emission trading) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. The other method of legislative regulation is a direct carbon tax. Both have advantages and disadvantages. NRECA advises that either type of legislation will result in huge increases in your electric rates in the ranges listed above.
What you should do: We are asking you, as one of 42 million rural electric customers across the U.S., to contact your federal legislators, regardless of your belief about climate change. Let them know that they should choose to regulate CO2, they need to write the bill so that it can be understood by every American citizen; tell us how much they project our electric rates will increase and, how and where the money will be spent. For example, how much will be spent on technical solutions, research and development activities. It is important to note that a cap and trade approach is much vaguer than a straight forward carbon tax and more difficult to project the increased cost of electricity.
To assist you in contacting your congressional delegates, we have provided the following model. You can print it out or copy and paste it into your letter. To save postage, email your letters to your respective legislators at the addresses listed below or return your letters with your next payment to MVEA and we will forward the letters for you. Access the website www.ourenergy.coop for additional information about the looming electricity crisis and how to contact your legislators electronically. Legislators have one chance to get their regulations right. Let them know the citizens come first, not Wall Street, not the government, and not the EPA.
Congressional contact information
Another Essay Winner Headed to Leadership Camp
Limon High School junior, Reid Hansen, placed second in MVEA’s essay contest. Reid is the son of Ross and Sharon Hansen of Genoa. In July, Reid
will travel to Clark, Colorado, just north of Steamboat Springs, to attend the Colorado Electric Education Institute’s Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp. Approximately 100 high school juniors from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming will meet up for a week of leadership seminars and activities in addition to tours and social interaction. Congratulations to Reid. Following is his winning essay.
Our Energy, Our Future
“Our Energy, Our Future” is a project initiated to make our representatives in the government aware of the energy crisis and that there needs to be a solution. This grassroots effort encouraged dialogue between one million, four-hundred thirty-nine thousand energy consumers and their representatives.
As a nation, we are very close to exceeding the capacity of our energy needs. Experts say that in about twenty years we will need as much as thirty percent more energy. Where will we get this new energy? “Our Energy, Our Future” is pushing politicians to find an answer to that question in partnership with the consumer. We will need to develop new technologies to meet our energy needs in the future and we will need a strong representative voice in the legislature to facilitate our consumer needs.
Not only do we need a clear energy policy, but we also need to ensure that energy is affordable for all consumers. Between inflation and the rising cost of energy, today a larger portion of our budget is spent on our energy needs and consumption. The changes that our representatives make will have an effect on prices, good or bad, so it is imperative that every person be heard. Our representatives need to look to the future consequences of their policies by using the most current economic models used by energy production companies in order to get a clear picture of the consumer’s needs and production capabilities of energy corporations.
It is also extremely important that “Our Energy, Our Future” continues to grow and be utilized as our need for energy also grows. The more people who voice their opinion, the more likely our politicians will proactively work on an energy policy that is beneficial for not only the consumer, but also for energy companies. For “Our Energy, Our Future” to have a long-term effect, many more people will need to continue the dialogue by sending letters or emails to their personal representatives. Grassroots movements work; however, every single person affected needs to voice their opinion.
“Our Energy, Our Future” has come a long way, but has yet to accomplish its goal. Politicians today are more aware of the need for more capacity and technology, but need to be reminded by consumers that without affordability any energy policy will be dead in the water. Together energy companies, consumers and our legislature can make a difference and can promote a workable energy plan. Let’s not wait until it is too late for our representatives to be able to affect a change. As a nation, we need to act now to bring this issue to the forefront of the politicians’ minds.
Palmer Ridge Rolls Out the "Green" Carpet
Palmer Ridge High School rolled out the “green” carpet to welcome Governor Ritter to their school on February 19. The Governor stopped by the school for about an hour to take a look at the largest ground source heat pump in the state, congratulate the school on their environmentally smart choice and impart a few words of wisdom to students. The school staff declared it “green day” so the students donned their finest greenery for the occasion. Some went as far as turning themselves green.
District 38’s communications relations manager, Robin Adair, did an exceptional job ensuring things were on time and ran smoothly. Local TV channels and newspapers arrived to cover the event as students gathered in the gym for a game of “Energy Efficiency Price is Right” conducted by Tri-State G&T media specialist, Jonathan Thornton. Governor Ritter entered the gym greeted by the school’s band and cheerleaders just in time to ask the last question in the game and award the grand prize.
MVEA director and Tri-State board of directors’ vice-president, Rick Gordon, presented a plaque to the school commemorating their choice to be energy efficient. The Governor spoke and expressed his appreciation to MVEA and Tri-State for their support of projects such as Palmer Ridge High School. MVEA and Tri-State awarded the school district nearly $200,000 in energy efficiency rebates for installing the ground source heat pump.
Send Us Your Calendar Photos
Click here for details and entry form.
We had another very successful year with our calendar photo contest! The photos were great and produced a beautiful calendar. We look forward to getting your awesome photos again. Click above for the entry form and rules-----keep up the good work!!
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