Our Energy, Our Future: Recent News and Editorials
Speak Up for Affordable Power
Each month you budget for your phone, electricity, house, and car payments. Generally you know how much each bill will cost and plan your spending accordingly. But what if you couldn't control your energy costs? What if, each month, they climbed beyond your reach?
At Southern, we work to deliver affordable power to you every day. It's why power districts were created, and it's a commitment we plan to keep. But national energy legislation could force prices higher than many consumers can afford, effectively taking us back to the dawn of the twentieth century.
In the 1920s and early '30s, central station electric service was a luxury that only 10 percent of rural residents nationwide enjoyed-and those who had power paid dearly for it. When Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Warm Springs, Ga., in 1924, he was dismayed to find electricity for his small cottage cost four times what it did at his estate in New York. After being elected president, he created the federal Rural Electrification Administration by Executive Order to make power affordable for all Americans.
Unfortunately, the struggle for affordable power that was fought for three-quarters of a century ago has flared up again. When adjusted for inflation, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts the price of electricity for residential consumers will climb 14.6 percent by 2030-but federal energy and climate change policy will likely impact energy prices further, with some predicting that the cost for electricity could triple within the next 10 years! Once again, we need to make sure affordable power will be available to all Americans in 2030 and beyond. Our job, on your behalf, is to work closely with Congress to find the best solutions for addressing climate change while keeping the price of electricity within your means.
Everyone at Southern--Board, management, and staff--remains committed to providing you with safe, reliable, and affordable power-but WE NEED YOUR HELP. Your participation in this campaign will help us to voice our concerns to our legislators, and remind them that affordable electricity must remain a priority.
Visit www.ourenergy.coop today and send an e-mail to your elected representatives sharing your concern. The site gives you the option to contact our senators and congressmen via email, or automatically creates a letter you can mail.
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