September 2009
Tough Choices in our Future
It has been a long, hot summer in Washington, D.C. and the climate change debate in Congress is coming down to the wire. Now, more than ever before, is the time to make sure your voice—and your choice— heard. Our representatives in Congress are tackling some tough energy choices this year, but these choices need to be made as a nation. Will electricity remain affordable, or will we choose for it to be a luxury? Are we ready for brownouts if enough power is not available, or will we choose a diverse energy mix to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity in an environmentally responsible fashion? Will we choose to move forward or find ourselves, despite good intentions, moving backwards?
MVEA has always been committed to providing affordable, reliable energy in a responsible manner. Our choices reflect who we are and why we were founded by members like you. We want our communities to move ahead to a brighter future. To keep going in this direction, we need to speak up for affordable electricity. We all need to speak up to ensure that the new policies made in our nation’s capital are fair to everyone and minimize the impact on our electric bills.
Climate change policy has taken a front seat to everything else concerning energy. The problem is, many of our lawmakers are not considering what power suppliers have already done. Electric cooperatives are not strangers to renewable energy. We have utilized hydropower since it became available to us and all across the nation we’re developing innovative ways to generate electricity from renewable sources. Currently, 11 percent of all co-op electricity is renewable energy compared to 9 percent for the entire utility industry. In the Southeast, biomass generation—using everything from peanut shells to chicken waste to make electricity—shows great potential. The Northwest remains awash in hydro and wave power; the Midwest boasts lots of wind; and the Southwest sees so few cloudy days that solar power has made great strides.
But, technology is also developing concerning the use of fossil fuels, like coal and gas. Basin Electric Power Cooperative in North Dakota plans to separate carbon dioxide gas from smokestack emissions, pump it into underground cavities and, in theory, keep it there forever. When the carbon capture and storage facility goes online in 2012, 1 million tons of carbon dioxide will be removed in this fashion. In Indiana, Wabash Valley Power Association converts coal into a clean-burning synthetic gas stripped of polluting sulfur compounds and mercury, which it then burns to generate electricity.
Cooperatives across the nation, including MVEA, are hard at work to keep electricity reliable, safe and affordable and to produce it cleaner. But we need Congress to make sure electric bills stay affordable and give everyone time to develop the technology we need to accomplish the goals they are setting. We are in the middle of a “green revolution” in America with towering wind turbines and solar arrays dominating headlines as the future of electric generation. And, I don’t doubt that those technologies will take on a bigger role. But despite the media hype, they just cannot totally replace our conventional sources for producing electricity any time soon. We are already moving in the right direction at a steady pace, so why does the administration feel it needs to beat up the American people with more taxes? Yes, the carbon tax will be out of everyone’s pocket. And developing and improving power generation resources like solar, wind and biomass don’t come cheap.
The House of Representatives has already approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 by a very narrow margin and passed it on to the Senate. This demonstrates to the rest of us that it is not a particularly constituent friendly bill. So, now is the time to voice your concerns to your Senators that we do not want exorbitant electric bills. We can choose to invest in technology to lower energy costs and we can pave the way for adding energy to the grid. Most importantly, we can choose to work together and call on Congress to work with the electric cooperatives in a combined effort to address climate change responsibly with affordability in mind.
Nearly 400,000 electric cooperative members have decided to join together to make themselves heard through the Our Energy, Our Future grassroots awareness campaign. I urge you, as an MVEA member, to make sure your voice and your choice counts. Visit www.ourenergy.coop and contact your congressmen today. We all need to take responsibility for our future.
MVEA Appoints a New Director to Board
The Mountain View Electric Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Donna Andersen-Van Ness to fill the vacancy for District 7 left by the resignation of director Gary Martin earlier this year. Andersen-Van Ness has been a resident of the Monument area since 1992.
A teacher for 10 years, Andersen-Van Ness is currently a broker for Platinum Group, Realtors for the past four years and a realtor for approximately 20 years. Active on the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, she is also past president and a member of the Philanthropic Education Organization which promotes education for women and an author of 7 published novels.
Andersen-Van Ness was appointed according to procedures included in the cooperatives bylaws. The president of the board appointed a search and selection committee composed of three directors from the board and three members from district 7. The vacancy was advertised and those members from district 7 interested in serving on the board submitted applications and resumes for consideration by the committee. All qualified applicants were interviewed and the committee made a recommendation to the board of directors as to whom they felt could best serve the cooperative. The board then voted to accept the committee’s recommendation and appointed Andersen-Van Ness to the board.
Appointed on July 22, Andersen-Van Ness will begin her duties at the next board meeting August 18. MVEA has seven members on the board of directors and each director is elected to a three year term.
We Have the Winners
Members enter great pictures in photo contest!
The judges of the MVEA photo calendar contest had an agonizing time of it again this year. There were 131 entries into the contest for a spot in the 2010 calendar and some incredible pictures entered. It was extremely difficult to narrow them down to 12. Employees from both the Falcon and Limon offices voted for their favorites and when the scores were tallied there was one clear cut winner and the rest were predominately tie votes.
Congratulations to John Graves of Falcon who was clearly our first place winner. John wrote with his entry, “I am sending a photo I took after our last March blizzard. I took them from our patio in the afternoon after it had started to clear out. I was sure surprised at what I got. Some people say they can see two angels in the pictures.” That is what most of our judges also saw in John’s picture. His photo will grace the cover of our calendar and one of the months.
Our other winners are as follows:
Heather Williamson, Colorado Springs
Steven Knop, Peyton
Gail Holley, Peyton
Abigail Campbell, Calhan
Joanna Trescott, Calhan
Maryann Levy, Black Forest
Troy Tarter, Peyton
Nina Born, Peyton
Justin Tobias, Elbert
William Stayton, Black Forest
Corrine Fierkens, Colorado Springs
Congratulations to all of our winners and a huge thank you to everyone who participated. Our calendar should be available sometime in October. The next contest will start January 1, 2010 so start taking those pictures now!
Cruisin' on the Plains
Cruise out to Limon on September 12 to the 19th Annual Hub City Classic Car Show for a close up look at some beautiful cars and a whole lotta fun. The streets will be lined with roadsters, coupes, street rods and antique cars for you to drool over and vote on.
The day will also be filled with activities for entire family. Entertainment will be going on the entire day including a street bike stunt rider and the Kick’n Cruisers. You can participate in a poker run and a scavenger hunt, try your hand in the horseshoe tournament, visit vendors or just hang out in the beer garden and relax. We won’t leave out activities for the kids either.
For those who wish to enter a car, registration is from 8-10 a.m. in front of the library one block south of the stoplight in town. The color guard from Department of Corrections will also be on hand to kick things off. For more information, call 719-775-9418, email limonchamber@yahoo.com or go to www.limonchamber.com. See ya there Daddyo!
Need Help Paying Your Utility Bill? Click Here
