Johanns Trying to Stop Political Shenanigans!

This came from Senator Johann's office and Dawson Power is happy to tell all of our followers (and customers) that Senator Johann's totally understands the negative impact that cap and trade legislation will have on our agricultural communities.  We applaud you Senator Johanns!

Principles Not Politics on Cap-Trade


Support has faded for a Senate cap-and-trade bill that taxes greenhouse gas emissions. Headlines like "Democrats Call Off Climate Bill Effort" indicate that legislators listened to their constituents, who reject further burdensome cost increases on aspects of everyday life.

But this battle isn't over. There is talk of reviving cap-and-trade with a strategy that circumvents regular order in the Senate, as well as the will of the American people. I introduced a bill earlier this week to prevent this from ever materializing.

The reason a legislative scheme to pass cap-and-trade has come to light is because its proponents do not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate. This is a sign that the legislation is flawed. Traditionally it would've been reworked until it merits the support of 60 senators. But not anymore.

The plan now is to pass an energy bill in the Senate without a cap-and-trade regime, but add cap-and-trade later, in a House-Senate Conference bill. When that bill comes back to the Senate, in a lame-duck session, some in the majority predict that senators who are no longer facing re-election, due to retirement or a loss, are likely to flip-flop and support it. The political scheming of a lame-duck Senate would triumph over the will of the American people.

This has given cap-and-trade proponents a fresh avenue to pass it without Senate debate. As one senior Democrat said in a recent interview, the post-election environment could let some members feel "free and liberated" to vote a cap-and-trade regime into law.

The obvious question: Free and liberated from what? Should the passage of such a sweeping policy initiative depend on the moment its proponents are least accountable to those who elected them? Are we to understand that the American people are a burden, a handicap, a captor of public officials?

This shocking scheme might be easily dismissed, had it not already been widely reported. Politico wrote that the strategy now is to "conference the new Senate [Energy] bill with the already-passed House bill in a lame-duck session after the election, so House members don't have to take another tough vote ahead of midterms." Energy and Environment Daily reported, according to House majority leadership, the "conference committee may wind up merging the House cap-and-trade plan with a Senate bill that does not include it."

Even President Barack Obama and his press secretary have recently hinted as much. Less than six months after railroading the health care bill through budget reconciliation, the plan again seems to resort to any means necessary to get an equally ill-conceived bill through Congress. The American people do not want – nor deserve – more procedural shenanigans.

I introduced a bill on July 27, to prevent cap-and-trade from being inappropriately added to a bill -- unless the Senate has already debated and approved it. It does not directly address the merits or shortcomings of cap-and-trade; it essentially requires cap-and-trade to pass the Senate before being inserted in a conference report.

If cap-and-trade is added in conference and comes back to the Senate, two-thirds of the Senate would have to agree to vote on it without having debated it. If the Senate approves a cap-and-trade regime under regular order, my amendment wouldn't be triggered. The amendment is waiting for Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to allow it consideration on the Senate floor.

If we're going to pass a bill that will change our economic landscape, it should be good enough to pass on its own merits. Any major policy initiative -- like cap-and-trade -- should be debated in the Senate so the American people have an opportunity to understand its implications and voice their opinions.

This is an issue that transcends partisanship, just as it did when the Senate voted overwhelmingly last year to keep cap-and-trade from passing via budget reconciliation. My bill looks ahead to preserve the legislative process now -- so it is not hijacked later.

If, in four or five months, the Senate is "free and liberated" from public opinion to pass bills that would otherwise be rejected, as one of my colleagues suggested, what does that say about our relationship with the American people? It's no surprise Congress has such low approval ratings.

We should debate the merits of cap-and-trade. If it is going to be voted on, we should be on the record before the election, not after. The idea that we can be "free and liberated" from our constituencies should be eliminated from the Senate's conscience.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) serves on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Rural Electric Utilities Gain in Agriculture Bill

Co-ops have scored important gains in funding for the Rural Utilities Service and baseload generation in a Senate agriculture appropriations bill, and NRECA CEO Glenn English is calling on co-op leaders to press hard for the Senate bill.


The bill, passed July 15 by the Senate Appropriations Committee, provides $6.5 billion for the Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program in fiscal 2011, thwarting the Obama administration’s attempt to slash the program by $2.5 billion.

Following the lead of its agriculture subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., the full committee also rejected the administration’s attempt to curtail RUS lending for natural gas facilities and environmental upgrades to existing power plants.

“Diminishing rural electric cooperatives’ access to Rural Utilities Service loan programs will further disadvantage rural residents by raising user rates and undermining service reliability,” the committee said in a report accompanying the legislation.

The bill heads to a conference with a House committee plan, and English said co-op leaders should solicit their elected officials’ support for the Senate version.

“We have worked hard with our supporters in Congress to ensure the RUS program retains its historic mission to serve rural America,” he said. “We are urging our members to express their support for these Senate committee provisions that will help keep electricity reliable and affordable.”

The appropriations legislation, which provides spending for a wide range of federal agriculture and nutrition programs, also re-opens RUS lending for baseload facilities for up to three demonstration projects at a cost of as much as $1.5 billion.

Source:  Electric Cooperative Today (July 16, 2010)

Nebraska PPD proposes wholesale rate increase

Dawson Public Power District purchases all of the power they sell to customers from Nebraska Public Power District.  We want to be upfront with our customers about the projected rate increase.  Mr. Asche's explanation gives all of us insight into the future of electric rates with just the current economic impacts.  The 7-12% projected increase is not good news but it could be worse.

Imagine what will happen if congress decides to MANDATE renewable portfolio standards for every state?  NPPD has made a commitment to add renewable power (wind) to their generation mix.  They have set a goal of achieving 10 percent of our energy supply for NPPD’s native load from renewable resources by 2020. What they propose has sound merit for the State of Nebraska and we stand behind them.  Our board of directors pledges to help NPPD be the best power supplier they can be. 

From Ron Asche, CEO of Nebraska Public Power District:

"NPPD, like many other utilities across the country, has seen upward pressure on electric rates.  Unfortunately, facility improvements and fuel costs continue to increase, while at the same time, off-systems sales margins have decreased dramatically. Preliminary estimates show a need to raise wholesale rates between 7 and 12 percent for 2011.

To be more specific, let’s break down the 2011 rate increase into its three main drivers.

1. Fuel costs—as in the past, the cost of coal, uranium, and fuel transportation costs continue to increase as world demand for these fuels rise.

2. Deferred maintenance outage - In order to minimize the rate increase in 2010, NPPD decided to move a major planned maintenance outage at Gerald Gentleman Station to 2011. Because this was deferred, NPPD will have two major plant outages in 2011, one at Gentleman Station, and one at Cooper Nuclear Station. Having two major outages in the same year will increase 2011 costs by around 30 million dollars.

The third largest factor driving the 2011 rate increase is…

3. Non-firm energy sale prices. Often times, NPPD can generate more energy than our customers need, and as a result, we can sell this excess energy to other utilities outside Nebraska, which helps offset some of NPPD’s fixed costs that otherwise have to be paid by our Nebraska customers. Recently the market price for this energy has gone down considerably. In 2008, for example, we sold energy on the market at an average of 48 dollars per megawatt-hour. In 2009, this dropped to 26 dollars per megawatt-hour. For 2010 and 2011, it looks like the market will average about 26 to 29 dollars per megawatt hour - which will mean a significant drop in expected revenue for NPPD. The decrease in wholesale energy market prices is primarily due to the recession, which has reduced the demand for energy in the region. In addition, the supply of natural gas in the United States has increased significantly, which means that many natural gas plants are able to produce energy at more competitive prices - which, in turn, drives down energy prices on the open market.

Other utilities in the region have increased wholesale rates from 21 percent to 54 percent between 2006 and 2010 (compared to NPPDs increase of 31 percent). We realize it’s little comfort to know that others are also raising rates, but thought it pertinent for you to know that other utilities are feeling the cost same pressures."

Dawson Power applaudes NPPD for everything they do to keep our rates low.  We especially thank them for their integrity and willingness to be open about the future of wholesale power costs in Nebraska.  We are as concerned as they are about the rising cost of electricity.