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You Can Help with ‘Our Energy, Our Future’
After many months of elections dominating the news, it’s finally time for all of us to focus fully on issues that will impact our energy future.
To manage our energy future, we’re going to have to stay close to our government officials. We have to remember that our cooperative sprang from a government-sponsored initiative to get power to the rural areas. State legislation approved in 2007 requires us to meet certain renewable standards beginning in 2009.
Working with our elected officials and stressing the cooperative point of view allowed us to include energy efficiency in the mix.
It also allowed us a 10% ceiling versus a 12.5% mix for investor-owned utilities. When talking with government officials about renewables, we want them to know we strongly support initiatives to become more self-sufficient with cleaner energy resources. But, we also have to make sure they know our concerns as they relate to the cost of certain renewables.We must make sure our elected officials recognize and understand the hardship more expensive fuels would put on all of us in the form of higher prices.We welcome the opportunities to make these contacts with our elected representatives as part of our jobs. But, to be effective in the future, we’re going to need help from you.
When a legislator hears from 500 or 5,000 constituents, that drives home the point much more than hearing from just two or three individuals.
Piedmont Electric is joining a nationwide grassroots effort to let our elected officials know of our concerns. We’re asking our representatives to think long and hard about the energy situation we’re facing, and to consider every angle.And, we’re asking you, our member-consumers, to contact your elected officials in Washington and Raleigh.
Questions to ask elected officials and candidates for office are:
• What is your plan to make sure we have the electricity we’ll need in the future?
• What are you doing to speed the development of new technology that will allow me to have the electric power I need while meeting national climate policy goals?
• How much is all this going to increase my electric bill, and what will you do to make it affordable?
Piedmont Electric has postcards available at the office which can be filled out and sent to our elected officials.
You may also return the cards to the Cooperative, and we will make sure they are sent to our representatives.
Or, you may go to www.ourenergy.coop to send an email.
It’s “Our Energy, Our Future.” Please help! |
