In a speech June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University, President Obama announced a broad new federal mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric power plants. The president will instruct federal regulators to apply the Clean Air Act to carbon dioxide issued from power plants. 

While the president’s scheme will impose a massive new climate tax upon all consumers; we at Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) are especially concerned about this proposal because our members already spend disproportionately more on energy than other consumers across the country.

The president’s proposal will hit co-op served families and businesses here awfully hard. These regulations are costly, and they take autonomy from our co-op by challenging our ability to make decisions that govern our own infrastructure.

The president’s climate tax fails to take into account electric cooperatives’ existing efforts to integrate renewable energy into our power portfolios. Co-ops are at the forefront of energy efficiency initiatives working hard to reduce the need to build expensive new power plants.

Ultimately, electric cooperatives are about keeping electric bills affordable and providing underserved communities the power they need to improve their quality of life. The president’s proposal will make electric power more expensive, causing families and businesses to sacrifice on top of all the other uncertainty in our national economy. Without question, electric bills will get bigger for the Americans who can least afford to pay them.

If the president doesn’t see the importance of affordable electric power, then the members of our co-operative will help bring it to his attention. President Obama needs to recognize the need to keep electric bills affordable.

Our members can contact their legislators to express their concerns:

US Representative Ted Yoho at 202-225-5744; website: http://yoho.house.gov

US Senator Marco Rubio at 202-224-3041; website: http://rubio.senate.gov

US Senator Bill Nelson at 202-224 5274; website: http://www.billnelson.senate.gov

John Martz

CEO of SVEC