February 2010 Winter Storm Outage

As of 11:30 A.M. Monday Feb 8th, Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative, reports the following outages. Muskingum County 660, Tuscarawas County 395 and Guernsey County 4820. These numbers have been updated primarily to reflect two Guernsey County Sub Stations, Senecaville and Antrim. These two subs account for approximately 3720 meters. The sub-station outages are transmission lines. AEP crews are on-site and working to restore the transmission lines as soon as possible.

We do not expect full restoration of the entire system until late Tuesday or Wednesday, however we are watching another Winter Storm Watch for our area.

The American Red Cross has set up shelters at the Salvation Army in Zanesville, Liberty Fire Department in Kimbolton and the First United Church of Christ in New Philadelphia.

Climate Change Legislation (Cap and Trade)

The climate change debate in Washington, DC is intensifying. Since reconvening after the August recess, the Senate has been mired in discussions about both health care and financial reform. However, even though the Senate is focused on those very important issues, climate change is still on the radar screen.

S. 1733, known as the Boxer-Kerry Clean Energy and American Power Act, has now been introduced. There are also signs that the EPA will begin regulating greenhouse gases through its own process. Last week, , the EPA issued a proposed rule to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generators and industrial plants. That came on the heels of final approval of a rule on economy-wide reporting of greenhouse gas emissions that is effective January 1, 2010.

Clearly, there is still a sense of pressure among many in Washington, DC to move forward with sweeping climate change legislation and/or regulation. The question becomes when. We know that the EPA is active. On the legislative front, the Congressional calendar is extremely busy. Several committees will be weighing in on the climate debate in the Senate, but how long that will take is another unknown factor. Senators Boxer and Kerry have now released the details of their legislation and the EPA has provided an economic analysis of the bill. Senator Boxer is holding three days of hearings and has tentatively scheduled a mark-up of the legislation in mid-November. All things being equal, that timeframe is tenuous at best.

Once a final bill emerges out of Committee and is set for floor debate, there will need to be 60 votes in favor of the bill. Many specific details of climate legislation that are important to certain legislators in their home areas are becoming part of the closed-door discussions. Regional issues and economic impact are key issues to be addressed.

The bill does not provide for the kind of ratepayer protection that is needed in Ohio, or the Midwest for that matter. It still benefits the East and West Coasts, at our expense. In these continued tough economic times, please make your voice count! Talk to Senators Brown and Voinovich and let them know that we need to have a fair, affordable, and achievable approach to climate change legislation.

Climate Change Legislation (Cap and Trade) -- continued

What about the environment?

Ohio’s electric cooperatives are environmental stewards. We’re already investing $750 million in pollution control on our coal-fired plants to make them among the world’s cleanest, and getting about 5% of our power from renewables or lower emitting sources. We’ve led the way in load management for more than 30 years as well, delaying the need for new power plants and saving our members millions of dollars. Commercially available technology to remove CO2 does not exist yet and is not expected to for many years. Alternate sources are more expensive and can’t meet the reliability demands of our members.

Where we stand

The nation’s rural electric cooperatives and Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative in particular can only support legislation that contained the following:

Fair – any emissions allowances that are granted under a formula should provide allowances to only entities that directly serve consumers with electricity from carbon emitting resources in proportions to their carbon emissions;

Affordable – utilities should receive up to 100 % of the allowances needed to comply with mandates in order to minimize the rate impact of the Cap and Trade program. Allowance prices should have a ceiling or an economic safety valve mechanism to mitigate price spikes and any damaging impact to our economy; and

Achievable – the unrealistic emissions reduction mandate of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 should be amended to a reasonable and achievable level. Such revision is required in order to provide time for utilities to research and invest in carbon-reduction technology without causing dramatic increases in electric rates. The goal is to prevent price spikes and minimize rate impact to members both residential, commercial and industrial.

Your voice matters!

As a member of an Ohio electric cooperative, your voice matters to our members of Congress. Register your concern about a Climate Change Legislation by clicking on the link below and joining the Our Energy, Our Future campaign. Urge Congress to work with electric cooperatives to meet both federal public policy goals and your need for affordable, reliable electricity. Your voice matters! Go to www.ourenergy.coop and make your voice heard. The April 2009 issue of Country Living magazine includes several articles with additional information on this important issue.

Call Member Services at 1-800-521-9879 or email us at mailbox@gmenergy.com to learn more about how you can help keep our electricity costs as reasonable as possible.

Our Energy, Our Future