Striking the right balance
on climate change

North Dakota’s rural electric cooperative leaders have been lifelong stewards of the environment. We continually strive to generate, transmit and distribute electric power in the most environmentally friendly ways possible, while at the same time balancing that stewardship with the price we must charge for the electricity delivered to your home, farm or business.

This year, much attention is being paid to the question of global climate change, and what can be done to lower the levels of manmade carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions released into the atmosphere. This attention is primarily focused on the U.S. Congress, where several proposals have surfaced to reduce CO2 levels. Some of these proposals could have a significant impact on the way electric cooperatives generate electricity and the price we must charge our member-owners for it.

Last month, the delegates who attended the annual meeting of our rural electric cooperative association took up the question of global climate change. By unanimous vote, the elected leaders of co-ops across the state took this position:

“Global climate change is an issue of great public concern and scientific debate. We therefore support objective scientific study of the whole global climate change issue. We also support voluntary actions that may contribute scientific knowledge about carbon sequestration or result in the identification and enhancement of techniques for carbon sequestration.

Concern about global climate change has accelerated, leading to strong efforts to enact federal and state policies to reduce manmade emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide from burning coal. Because the electric industry in general and electric cooperatives in particular rely heavily on coal for base load generation, poorly designed policies would cause substantial harm to electric consumers without measurable benefits in stabilizing or reducing global warming. We must assess the costs of current proposed global climate change legislation that has the potential to double wholesale coal-based electricity
rates. To address climate change responsibly, we strongly endorse the following principles to guide climate change policy:

-  Emission reduction requirements must be directed to all sectors of the economy.
-  Emission reduction plans must be based on international understandings and agreements that ensure other nations, including both developed and developing nations, participate.
-  The emission reduction targets must be both achievable and timed with the advancement and commercialization of technologies.
-  Emission reduction proposals, such as cap and trade plans, must include an economic safety valve, to avoid excessive financial hardships, market manipulation, or large price swings.
-  Fuel diversity should be encouraged to avoid reliance on a few sources of electricity, which will limit competition and create higher prices. This means nuclear energy and coal with carbon capture and storage, must be part of our nation’s energy future, together with hydropower and other renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.
-  Early adopters should receive credit for efforts made in CO2 captured and sequestered before climate change policy is enacted.
-   New laws and regulations should be prospective rather than retroactive in application.”

We have forwarded this resolution to Sen. Kent Conrad, Sen. Byron Dorgan, Rep. Earl Pomeroy and Gov. John Hoeven. While this debate is intensifying on Capitol Hill, some pundits say it will not be until our next president is elected that climate change legislation will be signed into law. Thus, there is still time to engage in this debate.

We encourage your voice to be heard as well, by letting the members of our congressional delegation and Gov. Hoeven know your position about global climate change. This issue is among the most complex ever faced by electric cooperatives, the utility industry and our society overall. In many political fights, there is a clear and common enemy. In this debate, there are people of good will on both sides. This issue is about protecting the environment; no one is against that. Yet, enacting legislation before it is clearly known and understood what the costs and impacts will be could have serious economic and electric reliability consequences.