Fewer options for future watts
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There are still some folks around who remember the power shortages electric cooperative members faced several decades ago. If you were a member then, you probably were contacted by your electric cooperative and asked to limit your use of electricity.
Because of this shortage, electric cooperatives around the country formed their own power supply cooperatives. These, in turn, built the power plants that gave rural people an affordable and reliable source of power for the first time.
Those who remember those “dark” days advise us never to return there. That’s why we are making decisions now to ensure you will always have an adequate supply of electricity.
While there are many uncertainties about anything in the future, one thing is sure: use of electricity is not going to slow down. Our experts predict that sometime around 2023, demand for electricity in Missouri will top the available supply.
As we look at the options for those “future watts,” we can see our choices will be few. Legislation and proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules to limit carbon emissions make investment in new coal-fired power plants unlikely.
That leaves natural gas and nuclear energy as the only two options to meet around-the-clock needs for electricity. It would be tempting to stick with natural gas, because these plants are less expensive to build, and fuel prices currently are low.
However, if all of the electric utilities in the U.S. started building new natural gas plants, it’s likely demand would outpace supply, with resulting shortages and higher prices. And while natural gas plants release less carbon dioxide than coal plants, they still have a sizable carbon footprint. There are other emerging environmental concerns with natural gas production that could lead to future problems.
That’s why Missouri’s electric cooperatives have joined in an unprecedented arrangement among all segments of the state’s electric utility industry — cooperative, municipal and investor-owned — to preserve the nuclear energy option for Missouri. And we may need your help to make this option a reality.
New Missouri Sen. Mike Kehoe has introduced a measure that would allow this arrangement to move forward. Kehoe’s bill, S.B. 50, would make it possible for investor-owned utilities to recover their costs in a more timely manner for an early site permit for a nuclear plant next to the existing one in Callaway County.
Without this provision, it’s unlikely the investor-owned utilities can invest in the nuclear energy option. And without all the industry players, the cost for building the plant would be out of reach.
Most of Missouri’s leaders agree this plant would be a big win for the state. If any opposition emerges, it would be from groups that are only concerned about today and are not interested in the long-term needs of the state’s consumers. Reliable electricity is vital to keeping the businesses we have and attracting new businesses — such as data centers and other well-paying high-tech firms — to the state in the future.
Please pay attention as SB 50 moves through the legislature. And when asked, please help us get this important piece of legislation passed on behalf of all Missourians. As this legislation proceeds, your electric co-op will have information you can use in contacting your elected officials.
In the end, this effort is all about diversification and not putting all of our eggs in one basket. Electric cooperative members, regardless of their business interests, understand this concept. When a large portion of your electric bill pays for generation, we feel it’s wise to be diversified.
Preserving the nuclear energy option is vital to ensure you have affordable and reliable power well into the future.
Hart is the executive vice president of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
-Barry Hart
