July 2010
Your Summer Job: Keep Electric Bills Affordable
by Keven Groenewold
School’s out, vacations are under way, and the heat of summer seems as if it will never end. This is also the time of year when some pretty important folks return home for a visit. Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation will be traveling throughout our area and state, asking for your thoughts on various pieces of legislation being considered in our nation’s capital.
One major concern for electric cooperatives—energy and climate change policy—has returned to the front burner. Legislation on this subject was introduced in the U.S. Senate in April, and cooperatives across the country are studying it to see what it might mean for your electric bill.
At the same time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving ahead with efforts to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from power plants using the federal Clean Air Act—something the law was never designed to do. The Senate was considering a resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 26) to prohibit the EPA from acting unilaterally. However, on June 10, the U.S. Senate voted 53-47 to defeat the Resolution. This allows the EPA to continue this perilous journey. Both of New Mexico’s U.S. senators voted with the majority.
It’s too early to know for certain if Congress will take up this issue—very few legislative days are still scheduled for this session. However, New Mexico electric cooperatives, along with more than 900 electric cooperatives across the country, are reminding lawmakers that whatever they do, we will judge their action or inaction on whether or not your electric bills remain affordable.
The bottom line is that any decision made by Congress—even the decision of taking no action and allowing EPA to proceed on its regulatory path—will have some impact on your electric bills. And this impact comes on top of other pressures—increased fuel and material costs and higher demand for electricity, to name a few—that are forcing electric bills higher. Rest assured that your local cooperative leadership—directors and staff—are doing what they can to keep these cost increases constrained.
But we need your help. During the congressional break this summer, I urge you to talk to your U.S. senators and representative about your electric bill. Make sure they understand what higher bills will do to your family’s budget. In New Mexico, where the average electric cooperative household income is 38 percent below the national average, every penny counts, especially at a time when our economy has been hit so hard.
More than 4,000 cooperative members across rural New Mexico have already let our congressional delegation know where they stand on energy and climate change legislation through the Our Energy, Our Future grassroots campaign. These voices have formed a powerful chorus on the need for keeping electric bills affordable as debate on the issue unfolds. If you haven’t done so, please consider adding your voice to this national dialogue at www.ourenergy.coop.