[ad_1]
- Chaz Allen is Executive Director of the Iowa Utility Association.
The weather often forces us to focus on mundane things like keeping the lights on, keeping our homes warm, and being able to travel whenever we want without delay. It also serves as a reminder of the role utilities play in providing safe and reliable power. Our utility partners provide reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for homes and businesses 24/7.
While there are many changes taking place in the energy landscape and growing awareness of how it affects our lives, one thing that remains constant is that energy is becoming more affordable for all customers. The importance of ensuring that the price is reliable. Extreme weather and policy changes have raised national regulators concerns about reliability that have never been an issue in Iowa. Utilities takes his role very seriously in ensuring that he has all the tools and resources in place to keep his highly complex system running smoothly 24/7.
Iowa has a functioning system, a highly reliable power grid, and one of the lowest levels of renewable power generation in the nation.
However, it seems that it is not enough for some people. There is a new group that wants to change the rules for their own benefit. Their plan will allow only some of Iowa’s largest energy consumers to “withdraw” from the markets the rest of us depend on and sustain. Their plans come at the expense of all other customers’ revenues.
more:Large Iowa energy users say they want to bypass current providers and buy power on the open market
Iowa’s low energy bills and increasing share of renewable energy have attracted many large technology company customers, helping the growth and success of existing businesses. These groups, which claim to represent the best interests of all Iowans, have proposed a system in which “unsophisticated” customers pay more. It’s a change in balance and fairness that we’ve provided to our customers.
Disrupting the balanced approach that the regulated energy environment ensures that there are no winners and losers destroys the very structure best suited for Iowa. It is simple supply and demand economics: when the largest buyers of energy are to leave the system whenever it benefits them, not to mention the reliability risks it creates, all other There will be a cost shift borne by electricity consumers. That may be the California way, but not the Iowa way.
Just as they don’t have to touch a hot stove to know they’ll get burned, people in Iowa use what they call “competitive choice” to learn what others have. There is no need to follow the masked and dangerous path of deregulation. States such as California, Texas, and Illinois, to name a few, have much higher energy bills than Iowa, more volatile prices, and less reliable energy supplies.
Personally, I believe the lights come on every time I flip the switch. I believe that even if the temperature drops, the house will remain warm. I am proud of Iowa’s homegrown energy generation, including our leadership in wind power. Paying my bill monthly, I am pleased to say that our rates are well below the national average.
Let’s not break a system that works and is proven to support the entire state of Iowa. It’s not just for the benefit of a select few who decided the rules behind everyday Iowans needed to be changed.
Chaz Allen is Executive Director of the Iowa Utility Association.
[ad_2]
Source link
