With the election of President Obama last fall, climate change legislation became a priority issue in Washington.  Even with the economic crisis that the administration has to deal with, there is still a lot of attention being paid to how to go about reducing the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions believed by many to be the cause of global warming. 

Remember from my previous articles on global warming that a little over half the electricity generated in the U.S. is from coal with about 20% coming from natural gas.  Also know that coal emits about 1.6 times as much carbon dioxide as natural gas.  So then, any legislation dealing with the emission of carbon dioxide is going to have coal in the bull’s eye. 

Also keep in mind that Bowie-Cass’s generation mix is about 60% coal, 30% natural gas and 10% hydropower.  Laws passed that impact the price of coal generation are going to impact us more than most.

So how are these laws designed to reduce the production of carbon dioxide going to work?  There are two basis programs that are being proposed.  One is called cap-and-trade and the other is a carbon tax.  Let’s look at the carbon tax program first.  This program is quite straightforward.  It would set a tax rate per ton of CO₂ emitted.  Most legislation has the tax rate increasing with time to encourage the development of generation sources that emit less CO₂.  One of the advantages of this program is that the amount of the tax could be known and planned for in advance. 

The other program that is proposed in legislation to reduce the production of CO₂ is the cap-and-trade program.  This program would put a limit, or cap, on how much CO₂ could be released.  Anything over that amount would have to have a matching allowance purchased from generators that produce less CO₂ than the cap amount.  These allowances would be traded in an auction system.  The price of the allowances would be set by supply and demand and could vary greatly from one time period to another.  This cap-and-trade program is the preferred program of the Obama administration and is included in his 2010 budget.

Glen English, the CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) had this to say in a recent letter to President Obama.  “NRECA strongly objects to the proposal in your administration’s budget to auction emission allowances to the highest bidder in a cap-and -trade program…. Such a program would only serve as a backdoor, variable tax on consumers.  If the government needs to raise revenue to fund important national priorities, those taxes should be set by the government and collected by the IRS, not set by Wall Street to be collected by utilities.”

From a personal standpoint, I agree with Mr. English.  I would rather see my elected representatives stand up and come in the front door and tell me what they need rather than pass legislation that sneaks in the backdoor to do the same thing.  Regardless of which program ends up in the final legislation, I think we can be certain of this; it is going to result in a significant increase in electricity rates.

Again, we want to encourage you to make your concerns about the affordability of electricity known to your elected representatives.  You can do that by going to the Our Energy, Our Future website at http://www.ourenergy.coop/.

Who knows when the legislation will be passed and become law.  The time to make your voice heard is now.  In the political arena, two things are of supreme importance, money and votes.  The cooperative program may not have the most dollars but it does have a lot of voices.  Now is the time to let Washington hear us on this issue.

      America’s families are facing tough economic times. Many struggle to afford the basics: food, housing and energy. In fact, the cost of residential electricity in the United States climbed an average of 26 percent between 2002 and 2007, and it is projected to go even higher. As if that wasn’t bad enough, some predict today’s electricity supplies won’t be able to keep pace with future demand.

     Now, elected officials in Washington, D.C., are poised to make important policy decisions that will determine our nation’s energy future. To guide lawmakers in a sound direction, electric cooperatives are making sure that your voice-the voice of the consumer-gets heard during legislative debates. Through the “Our Energy, Our Future” grassroots awareness campaign, hundreds of thousands of electric cooperative consumers have sent more than 1.5 million messages to their members of Congress. Through this outreach, co-ops have shared our insight drawn from decades of offering safe and reliable electricity at affordable rates; service that always makes consumers-not the bottom line-priority one.

     If you haven’t already done so, please get involved in the campaign by asking your representatives on Capitol Hill one important question: Are you willing to work with electric cooperatives like Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative to ensure that our nation has reliable power at a price consumers can afford?

     The stakes are too high to miss this opportunity to help secure Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative’s energy future. To learn more about how you can begin a dialogue with your elected officials, please visit www.ourenergy.coop. Together we can keep electric bills affordable. Today is the time to act. Tomorrow might be too late.

  The Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative board of Directors recently approved several changes to the By-Laws of the Cooperative. These changes allow members to vote for directors by Mail-In Ballot and affect the nomination process to become a director.

As a result of these changes, Bowie-Cass Members now have the ability to vote for directors of the cooperative by way of a Mail-In Ballot. Mail-In Ballots will be mailed to every member of the cooperative by September 15, 2008. To vote by mail, members must return their completed ballots to the cooperative by October 8, 2008, two days before the Annual Meeting. In the past, members had to attend the Annual Meeting in order to place their vote, now Annual Meeting attendance is not necessary. Mail-In Ballots will make it possible for those who cannot attend the Annual Meeting to vote for the directors of their choice. Members may still choose to vote at the Annual Meeting, however they must bring their Ballot to the meeting. There will be no ballots distributed at the annual meeting. As has always been the case, election results will be given following the Annual Meeting.

Other changes approved by the Board of Directors concern the process of becoming a director. In addition to the previous requirements set out in the By Laws, any member who wishes to run for the position of director must first submit a Director Candidate Certificate of Eligibility by August 15, 2008. If certified that the member meets the By Law requirements and a quorum of at least 25 people attend the District Nominating Meeting, then the candidate can be considered for a place on the ballot.

For more information about the election of your board of directors contact Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative, Inc. 903-846-2311.

The Directors for Bowie Cass Electric Cooperative welcome Anthony Pinkham to the Board. Mr. Pinkham was voted by majority vote of the Directors to fill the vacancy left by Bowie County Director Gary English who passed away in August of 2007. Mr. Pinkham is a Bowie-Cass member who resides on Daniels Chapel Road north of New Boston. He is the Vice President of Lending at Bancorp South in New Boston and a life long resident of the New Boston area. A graduate of New Boston High School, Mr. Pinkham went on to complete his education with a Bachelors Degree in Finance from Texas A&M University, Texarkana. He is very active in the community, serving as the Vice President of the New Boston Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Rotary Club. Mr. Pinkham is married. His wife Lorie is a Kindergarten teacher at Crestview Elementary.

Last month we looked at the basic science behind global warming and I also told you that in the present political climate it appears we will see laws passed that will limit the production of greenhouse gases. This month, in part two of this four-part series, I want to walk you through the generation resources that Bowie-Cass has and how they are acquired. Read more …

This article is the third in a four part series on global warming. We have previously discussed the science and politics of the issue and have talked about how Bowie-Cass acquires its power and what the fuel sources are for that power. This month, we will look at the principle fuels that are used to generate electricity and how they compare, especially with regard to the greenhouse gas issue. Read more …

What do you think of when I mention the words “global warming”? Some of you will think that it is the greatest threat facing civilization today. Others will see it as a social or political agenda masquerading as science. But regardless of what your view is, you need to understand that this issue is already affecting your Cooperative and will impact each of us directly and in a major way in the months and years to come. Read more …