COLUMN: A Real Crisis Needs To Be Addressed Next Legislative Session
Column by
Irl Scissors, Executive Director
Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future
A Real Crisis Needs To Be Addressed Next Legislative Session
As the 2015 Missouri legislative session grinds to a halt, our focus is lost on what moves Missouri forward. Ordinarily there is the typical last-minute rush to push legislation through to the procedural finish line.
However, in the usual sprint at the end of the legislative session or in this case, crawl, opportunities are missed to address real, impending issues that would benefit our state.
At this very moment, much of Missouri’s energy infrastructure nears the end of its life cycle. Without upgrades, the equipment that generates and distributes our electricity becomes less efficient and is more susceptible to failure.
Failing energy infrastructure puts Missouri’s most vulnerable at serious risk as we’ve already seen underground fires from old substations shutdown busy business districts. Blackouts could result in a lack of heat in the harshest winter months or cool in the dog days of summer.
Yet somehow, legislation that updates Missouri energy policy to encourage investment and protect and upgrade our grid, once again, do not reach final passage.
As this year’s session concludes and members head home to their respective districts, I ask that we pay special attention to the conveniences we all enjoy as a result of a stable, affordable supply of electricity. We are very fortunate in Missouri to pay as little as we do for electricity. It’s important that members and constituents alike do everything possible to preserve Missouri’s energy future.
Let’s not wait until aging infrastructure becomes a crisis that puts Missourians in harms way before we upgrade our energy policies and update our energy infrastructure. Let’s make sure we see this impending crisis as part of the mad dash to the legislative finish line this time next year.
