Dear Representative:
The Izaak Walton League of Iowa and the Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter, are
united in their analysis of the Energy Utility De-Regulation bill currently
available for debate in the Iowa House and Senate, H.F. 2530 and S.F. 2361.
Environmental organizations have advocated for many years reducing energy
waste by efficiency measures and greater reliance on cleaner renewable fuel
resources to generate electricity. This makes sense for the environment and
the consumer. The energy deregulation bill must result in a system that will
deliver clean, affordable, reliable electricity for years into the future.
Renewable energy in Iowa can be generated from several sources, such as
wind, solar and biofuels. Much of these renewable sources can be produced
economically in Iowa as part of our energy generation.
We believe that an additional 10% of our energy can come from renewable
resources over a very few years. This would result in cleaner air, cleaner
water, and answer concerns on global warming to a great extent.
The additional 10% of generation from renewable resources has been the goal
of the Responsible De-Regulation for Iowa (REDI) Coalition in its
negotiations with legislators and the industry. We very clearly want this
energy generation to be meterable in Iowa, not imported by accounting
sleight of hand from some far off generation site.
The past history of the energy industry in Iowa does not cause us to feel
that they will comply with these environmental objectives. In 1983, as a
State Representative, I (Lyle Krewson) helped to pass the Iowa Alternative
Energy Production Statute. A utility was required to purchase all
electricity produced in its service area by a facility which uses
alternative power at the price the utility would avoid if it were to build a
new conventional plant. This included solar, wind, waste management,
resource recovery, and refuse-derived fuels. In 1984, I helped to add a net
metering requirement in which credit is given to customers when they
generate more electricity than they use. This avoids the situation where
customers generate electricity and sell the extra at one rate but must
repurchase the electricity at a higher retail cost.
Over the years, the energy industry has made a number of attempts to remove
or repeal the renewable energy requirements. We have no reason to believe
that under de-regulation as proposed, these companies will be more
environmentally aware than under the current regulated system. That is why
we advocate the requirements outlined above.
The Izaak Walton League of Iowa and the Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter, believe
that unless we have legal guarantees on the increased use of environmentally
sound generation and the use of renewable resources as well as continued
energy efficiency initiatives, then the De-Regulation bills in the Iowa
legislature should be defeated.
We urge you to vote NO this year. The environmental proposal purported to be
signed off onš by the Governor and the industry is not acceptable!
Thank you for thinking about this issue. It is vitally important to all
Iowans, to our electrical energy security and to our economic future.
Roy Overton, M.D. Lyle Krewson
Izaak Walton Legue of Iowa Sierra Club Iowa Chapter
622 S.W. 59th Street 6403 Aurora Avenue #3
Des Moines, IA 50312 Des Moines, IA 50322
515/255-1951 515/276-8947
[log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
____________________________________________
Lyle Krewson
6403 Aurora Avenue #3
Des Moines, IA 50322-2862
[log in to unmask]
515/276-8947 - Phone/Fax
____________________________________________
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT
to [log in to unmask]
|
