Customer Newsletter, November 2007

Developing Issue: Climate Change Legislation
In the past year, we feel that the political environment has moved to one which embraces climate change legislation. This is occurring on the Federal, State and even local levels. There is a debate in regards to “Is there climate change?” and “Does generation of electricity from coal and natural gas contribute to that change?” We are not taking any side on that issue, but simply reporting that in our opinion, there will be legislation that will address climate change. We also feel it will come in the next 12 to 18 months and it will not make any difference who wins the elections in November.

Glen English, former US Congressman from Oklahoma and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) recently described the situation as a “perfect storm”. He said that all the elements are there to cause very large increases in your electric rates over the next 10 years. He reported some have estimated that costs will double, or even triple! So what are those elements? The cost of many of the bills being considered to address climate change is huge. They call for certain reductions in carbon emissions by a future date such as 2020, without technology that allows this to be met, or as I said at “a big price”. There is no correlation currently between the cost and the carbon reduction benefit and we are concerned a lot of your rate money will be wasted on things that do not significantly reduce carbon emissions. Another part of the storm is that the nation’s electric generation reserves are close to exhausted. We are going to need new power generation resources in the near future as the predicted increase in demand nationwide for electricity is estimated at 40% in the next 10 years.

Our position--and one I hope you will support--is this...if we are going to address climate change, then lets do it right! Let’s not spend money on the federal, state and local level doing the same thing. We also feel there needs to be some correlation between the amount of money spent and the results attained. As this issue heats up there will be those who will try to take advantage of it for personal gain by selling solutions that simply don’t work. We need to avoid all of these.

Those of us who work in public power or receive our electricity through this system can be adversely affected if we are not represented and if we are not heard. Over the next 12 months I may ask you to make your wishes on this subject known to your congressman, state senator or to your locally elected public power directors. We are here to represent you the customer and if you are concerned about the effects of climate change legislation and how effective it might be or what the price tag is then you may want to consider becoming a member of the Action Committee for Rural Electric (ACRE).

ACRE is a political action committee associated with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Your membership is used to support lobby activities on the Federal level, but more than that your membership is included in the 32,000 ACRE members who hopefully will participate in a grass roots activity to protect the interest of rural Americans as it relates to electric power service. No other electric lobby group can claim this kind of participation, and ACRE is effective in getting the “ear” of our elected officials, and getting our message across.

Southern’s Directors, staff and employees are strong supporters of ACRE. Last year was the first year we offered you an opportunity to belong and we did that because you had a lot at stake. We could see power costs being affected by increased rail costs and without control over what the railroads could charge. I can report some progress has been made and that we currently continue to work in Congress to prevent price gouging for the delivery of coal to power plants. If you are interested, a simple ACRE membership form is included. The regular membership is $25 and you may return the completed form and your check made out to ACRE along with your check for your current power bill. We cannot accept payment for ACRE membership along with the electric bill.

---Gary Hedman, CEO/President, SPD

Other stories inside this edition:
  • Prepare Your Home for Winter
    • Don't let your hard-earned money blow away through drafty doors and windows... More>>>
  • Make the Change of Season Safely
    • Don't let your hard-earned money blow away through drafty doors and windows... More>>>
  • All Aboard! On the ENERGY STAR Change A Light Pledge
    • For the 2007-2007 ENERGY STAR Change A Light Pledge program, a total of 156 people have pledged to do their part to change one incandescent bulb to a compact fluorescent lamp...More>>>
  • Switch & Save Campaign Is Underway!
    • Thursday, November 1, Nebraska Public Power District and its wholesale customer utilities, including Southern Power District, kicked off a campaign to encourage energy efficiency... More>>>