Energy regs inflate electric costs

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NORTH BALTIMORE – Energy regulations stand in the way of inexpensive, reliable electricity in Ohio,
several speakers at Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative’s legislative meeting said Wednesday.
The event at the cooperative’s headquarters, an annual meeting of its Action Committee for Rural
Electrification, featured comments from both sides of the aisle, with U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling
Green, and Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Sharen Neuhardt each sharing their thoughts on the
energy future of Ohio and the entire United States.
Latta maintained his position that excessive federal regulations stand in the way of less expensive, more
diverse and domestically-driven energy.
Neuhardt, the running mate of Ed FitzGerald, Democratic candidate for governor, said rules soon to be
handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency should be applied with sensitivity toward Ohio’s
power plants that rely on coal.
Nearly 70 percent of the state’s electricity came from coal, a nonrenewable fossil fuel, in 2013,
according to the state utilities commission.
Neuhardt explained that she lives on a farm and works for a Columbus law firm that represents rural
energy cooperatives, including Hancock-Wood.
"I want to assure you that when Ed and I take office in January, we will be sensitive to the impact
of these regulations on Ohio utilities like our electric co-ops that are heavily-dependant on
coal," she said.
"Our vision for Ohio is one in which you are able to continue to do what it is that (Hancock-Wood
has) been doing for three-quarters of a century, and that is providing affordable energy to your members
safely and at a reasonable cost."
In response to a question about how she would reconcile her position with those of other Democrats who
don’t support coal, Neuhardt suggested that states like Ohio should have flexibility in applying EPA’s
regulations, although the new rules have not yet been made public.
"We don’t know what we’re going to be facing, but we think the regulations are going to give the
state flexibility to deal with these issues. I think that if that’s the case, especially in Ohio, we
need to look at the fact that so much of our state’s production is coal-based. Are we going to get out
of coal? No. Renewable energy, these new technologies, are going to take a long time to get in place,
and we can’t afford to jeopardize our power grid.
"We don’t want to put additional burdens on you to get the job done," she told co-op members.

Latta pounced on the Obama administration and others in the federal government, who he said are
determined to restrict the domestic use of coal and prefer to export it to China.
Latta said the 5th District of Ohio would have been the second-most negatively affected area in the
United States under cap and trade legislation that failed early in the president’s first term.
"It was truly a war on coal, and it was really a war on the state of Ohio, and Indiana."
"They won’t be happy until there’s no coal left in this country," he said later.
As a result of those pending EPA regulations on coal-fired electric plants, 41 such facilities in Ohio
will close, Latta said.
"They’re going to be closing these things down, and they’re going to have to convert over. Now, you
have to explain to some people in Washington sometimes – it’s wonderful that we have all the natural gas
being found in the state of Ohio and around the country, but you can’t run a hose up to a plant and say,
‘I’m converting this thing over today from coal to natural gas. Because a retrofit is about as expensive
as building a brand-new plant."
Latta, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed with a statement by Hancock-Wood
President and CEO George Walton, who asserted that if even one of those plants had been closed this
winter, rolling blackouts would have been required to keep the power grid functional.
"There’s 13,000 megawatts that are scheduled to be shut down in 2015" due to the
"overbearing" regulations being produced by EPA, Walton said.
"During this past winter, all 13,000 megawatts were online. They were using every utility that was
out there on the grid, and we came that close to having rolling blackouts because we couldn’t produce
enough power with our existing resources to supply all of the demand from this state and surrounding
states. So this is a reality."
Separately, Walton praised Latta’s efforts to help facilitate propane supply during a shortage this
winter.

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