How much becomes too much?

By Glenn English, CEO
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

Will electric co-op consumers support a 50 percent increase in their power bills to help mitigate global climate change? How about 100 percent?

Across the nation, electric co-op directors take decisions on raising rates — increasing the bottom line of electric bills paid by their friends, neighbors and themselves — very seriously. As democratically elected utility regulators, co-op board members serve as the tether that directly links consumers with their electricity provider, helping define the electric co-op difference.

Now, that bond could be in danger. State, federal and local policy initiatives on climate change promise to dramatically impact electric rates, doubling or even tripling them under most scenarios. Even worse, these increases will not be subject to review or debate at the co-op board level; instead, they will be mandated by the government and passed directly to co-op consumer members. As a result, the success of electric co-op directors and chief executives in addressing the climate change issue will, to great measure, determine if co-op self-regulation remains a viable concept in coming years.

To preserve basic institutions that have guided electric cooperative governance for the past 70 years, co-op leaders have a responsibility to inform members what to expect, cost-wise, from efforts to curb green-house gas emissions blamed for causing global warming. Straight talk on this topic becomes imperative. And our 40 million-plus electric co-op consumers nationwide need to participate in this debate now before it's too late.

Consumers served by electric co-ops across America must understand that poorly conceived climate change legislation or regulation could enormously impact their monthly electric bills and have a disastrous effect on the economy. Unfortunately, many governmental officials, policy pundits, and opinion leaders believe that ambitious schemes to reduce greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, can be enacted without inflicting economic pain. In fact, most of these folks believe that doubling electric bills may be an acceptable price to pay for a reduced carbon footprint. As consumer-owned and -controlled electric co-ops, we completely reject that thought.

Successfully addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require long-term commitments by all American industries as well as international partners. The guiding principle on climate change should be: “first, do no harm.”

To that end, NRECA will ask candidates seeking public office to pledge not to double consumer electric bills as well as advocate a technology-based approach to meet the nation's climate change policy goals. We believe a long-term, sustained effort to address global climate change can succeed only if the nation's existing standard of living does not suffer. Therefore, bottom-line costs to consumers must be a part of the discussion.

Although the effects of climate change legislation on the environment will not be known for decades, the cost of dealing with it will show up right away in consumer electric bills. Electric co-ops will work closely with those in leadership roles to strike a reasonable balance. Candidates for public office need to do the same — or give voters fair warning before next year's election.

In February, Dakota Electric directors met with elected officials to discuss how proposed legislation will impact members.

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