If We Have to Pay, Let's Pay for Something that Works

I came home from our East Kentucky Power Board Meeting yesterday evening and my head was spinning. The dollars imposed on our members by our Federal Government is overwhelming. Not only has Kentucky lost a lot of jobs directly related to the coal industry, but it seems anything that is remotely connected to our environment and costs money goes into the environmental surcharge on your electric bill.

A lot of people in our area are boilermakers and pipefitters. They depend on power plants for a lot of their work. When the economy tanked and our current administration declared a “War on Coal,” they lost a lot of paychecks. Gas stations and restaurants lost money. Counties lost coal severance taxes and payroll taxes. Coal companies lost coal contracts. Grayson Rural Electric Cooperative and the other 15 member systems lost the opportunity to add to our generation portfolio and to provide jobs and income to our members.

What if there was a real emphasis on clean coal technology? We have spent millions of dollars bringing our plants into compliance, only to have the Environmental Protection Agency change the rules at the very last minute, and we have to do it all again. Where do those dollars come from? They are on your electric bill where it says “environmental surcharge.” What if all those millions of dollars could be spent on finding a cleaner, safer way to use abundant coal and to retrain the men and women who have jobs in and related to coal production?

Americans are smart, motivated and innovative. Why doesn't our government put a priority on achievement of a clean energy standard that would provide jobs, keep the environment clean, use our own natural resources, and give us enough power for years to come?

The government of a country should not try to bankrupt the states of that country, nor take away the livelihood of the people, without offering a viable alternative. What can possibly justify the ability of a single government agency, supposedly by and for the people, to completely dismantle a major part of the critical infrastructure of certain states? Other states aren’t saying much now, but wait until it’s their turn.

Our government is right to be concerned about health care, clean air and water, our interstate roads and bridges, and many other things that contribute to the well being of American citizens. But just leaving them hang out to dry is not the way to do it. Why can’t there be a method to the madness? There should be some way to have clean energy and still keep costs down to our members. I just don’t think it’s fair to keep passing the costs along to our members and other consumers when they have no say in the matter.