Cooperative Living August 2014 - 5

temperatures, as we did last
winter, or extremely hot temperatures, as
we have this summer.
Electric cooperatives have a long and
proud history of aggressively promoting
energy efficiency programs, and programs
that reduce the peak demand for power
on very hot or very cold days (known as
" demand-side management " programs).
These programs have helped, and continue
to help, co-op members save money,
while lessening or delaying the need to
build new power plants.
But as our population grows - along
with the amount of electrical equipment we
all use in our daily lives - building new
power plants becomes necessary.
Cooperatives have always been good
stewards when it becomes necessary to
build a power plant, or to buy from other
utilities the additional power necessary to
meet our members' needs. Cooperatives
purchase electricity from renewable
sources such as hydropower, landfill gas,
" waste wood " and wind. In the case of
renewable power purchased by ODEC,
we sell off to other utilities anything above
what is required for our members.
Cooperatives in this region, in fact, have
invested billions of dollars to build highquality
power plants. A good example of
a high-quality, base-load power plant is the
Clover Power Station, which was built by
ODEC, a power-supply cooperative, and is
operated by Dominion Virginia Power.
Each utility owns half of this 866-megawatt,
coal-fired generating facility that produces
enough electricity to power nearly
550,000 homes. Since coming online in
1995, Clover has been and remains one
of the cleanest-burning coal plants in the
country, with almost $400 million dedicated
to pollution-control technology, including
the ability to remove 95 percent of all
sulfur dioxide emissions and virtually all of
the fly ash emissions.
The collective support of the electric
cooperative community for protecting our
environment is what led us to build Clover,
so that it would be the cleanest coal-fired
August 2014/www.co-opliving.com
power station ever built in Virginia, and
one of the cleanest in the country at that
time. That same environmental commitment
remains today, as we do everything possible
to make sure we provide safe, reliable,
affordable and environmentally friendly
electricity to our member-consumers.
Beyond the strain on reliability that may
well result from the recent EPA regulations,
the closing of electric-generating facilities
is surely going to put upward pressure on
That same environmental
commitment remains
today, as we do everything
possible to make sure
we provide safe, reliable,
affordable and
environmentally friendly
electricity to our
member-consumers.
the price of electricity. In addition to those
pressures, EPA itself estimates that it will
cost $8 billion per year for utilities to comply
with these proposed regulations. And,
of course, it's electricity consumers who'll
end up paying these costs.
Moreover, these proposals come at a
time when our economy is still recovering.
Our economy - and by extension our
way of life - depends on a reliable,
affordable supply of electricity. EPA's proposals
will undoubtedly make electricity
more expensive.
There is also some question about the
impact these regulations will have on carbon
dioxide levels globally. Unless other
countries - and in particular China and
India - also agree to aggressively reduce
carbon dioxide emissions, our efforts will
have an insignificant impact on carbon
dioxide, but very likely a large, adverse
impact on American consumers' electric
bills, and of course on our economy.
So, what should be done? We believe
the solution to our energy concerns lies in
striking the right balance and in using an
" all of the above " strategy. We believe
that the United States needs to use every
available fuel to meet our demand for
electricity. And we also strongly believe
that this nation finally needs to develop
and adopt a national energy plan that
focuses on meeting demand, on reducing
our dependence on fossil fuels, AND on
increasing our reliance on renewable
sources of energy.
Our main concern is that EPA is moving
too fast, in ways that could do harm to our
still-recovering economy, and could hurt
America's competitive position in the world.
Instead of mandates, we need to work
together to find solutions.
We need solutions such as increased
government funding and public/private
ventures for research on carbon
capture and storage, alternative energy
sources, and energy efficiency. Let's build
on our many achievements, and make
sound investments for the future, without
mandates.
Cooperative Living magazine reaches
more than one million Virginians. I know
that each of you counts on your electric
cooperative to do everything possible to
ensure that your electricity is reliable and
affordable, as well as delivered safely
and in the most environmentally sensitive
way possible. We are sharing the concerns
that I've outlined above with our
state and federal legislators, as well as
with the EPA. If you share these concerns,
please go to www.tellepa.com or
www.action.coop and let the EPA know
how you feel. 
3
http://www.tellepa.com http://www.action.coop
Cooperative Living August 2014

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