Energy opportunities, challenges for state

[ MAY 11, 2009 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK ] - I recently spoke on Capitol Hill at a national energy symposium sponsored by the Reform Institute. More than 300 corporate and government leaders attended, devoted to the development of a national energy policy.

We discussed a wide range of major public policy choices; some could do great damage to our state and others could provide Oklahoma with great opportunities.

While there was praise of the American natural gas industry’s incredible job in increasing domestic reserves, others warned that progress in reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy could be destroyed by the administration’s proposed changes in oil and gas tax policy.

The cap-and-trade legislation as is being proposed in Congress could present another considerable danger to Oklahoma. It would impose a multitrillion-dollar tax that would disproportionably raise electric bills in states like Oklahoma, which derive much of their power from coal generation. Hit hardest would be the poor, who spend 19 percent of their income on utilities, and employees of American manufacturing plants, which may be driven to move overseas.

One great opportunity for Oklahoma is the increased use of compressed natural gas vehicles. CNG vehicles are clean and have a lower cost to run (the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline costs $1) and to maintain. The small number of fueling stations inhibits its growth. If other states follow the lead of Oklahoma, with legislation to purchase CNG vehicles for state government fleet use, we can jump-start private development of this fueling infrastructure. I returned from India last month, where all the New Delhi taxi cabs ran on CNG.

Also important to Oklahoma’s future is the potential of wind energy. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission and Oklahoma utilities are leaders in the building of transmission lines from high-wind locations in our state as well as smart grid technology.

While the evidence is mounting that corn ethanol is not good for the environment, doesn’t alleviate our dependence on foreign oil and increases hunger in the Third World, there is promise in switchgrass and other biofuels being tested in Oklahoma.

Also discussed was the possibility of expanding nuclear power, which would require repealing Carter-era rules against the reprocessing of nuclear waste and allowing disposal at the Yucca Mountain Facility in Nevada.

Conservation can be an area that draws a bipartisan consensus of conservatives and liberals. Many government and private buildings are tremendously wasteful. Energy audits usually reveal that simple procedures like replacing lighting fixtures can pay for themselves in fewer than three years. If the utility bills and the square footage of all government buildings were posted on a transparency Web site, policymakers and taxpayers would have the information necessary to make good economic decisions.

Private businesses are already way ahead of the government in these costsaving measures, and the decisions of regulatory agencies allowing utilities to recoup the costs of energy audits can accelerate these changes.

Price is an attorney with Oklahoma City-based Phillips Murrah P.C. law firm.