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Important Notice
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative Encourages New
Conversation About Members' Energy Future
Pressure is mounting in Congress to do something about climate
change. And while political debates in Washington, D.C.,
may seem far away, the outcome will have a direct impact on
our cooperative - and on you, the cooperative member and
other electric consumers.
Climate change is but one aspect of a looming energy crisis
created by increasing demand and decreasing capacity to meet
that demand. Experts now say some areas of the country will
be short of power within one or two years.
And yet energy supply isn't an issue our elected representatives
are spending a lot of time on. These forces, the desire by
government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and the
growing demand for power by consumers, are about to collide.
Some people say we can meet demand through efficiency and
renewable energy. The reality is we need all the efficiency
and renewable energy we can get, but that will not be enough.
To avert an energy crisis, the federal government must exercise
true leadership, the same leadership that got Americans to the
moon in the 1960s. Without that leadership - without a sound,
responsible plan - government risks not only the reliability
of our electric system, but literally the ability of many
Americans to be able to afford to pay their electric bill.
We, as electric co-op members and constituents, must call on
elected officials to provide this leadership. That's why I
want to encourage you to contact your elected officials. Now.
You don't need to be an energy expert to ask questions.
Asking questions helps find the answers to solve the problem
of balancing climate change goals with keeping your lights on
and your electric bills affordable.
Right now, members of Congress as well as state elected
officials are hearing from lots of different interest groups
who have ideas about how to address climate change. No one
is talking to consumers, however. We need a plan people can
live with today while we deal with the climate change problem
of tomorrow.
To make things easy, we have a website that will send an
email for you. Go to
www.ourenergy.coop and plug in your address. There you'll
be able to ask a series of questions to your representatives
in Washington. We're kicking this effort off with a basic
but critical question: What are they doing to make sure we'll
have the power we need in the future?
Far too often questions don't get asked by policy makers
until plans go wrong. We believe it makes sense to know the
answers before the laws are passed. You can help your
elected officials and yourself by having this conversation.
The electric bill you save will be your own.
Send
Email to Your Elected Officials Now.
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