Continued consideration of economic development and storm recovery support was the message carried to the Nation’s Capitol by Iowa Delegation

East-Central Iowa REC’s Harry Ruth and twenty-nine other representatives from Iowa rural electric cooperatives have returned from Washington, D.C., after discussing energy, economic development and storm recovery issues with Iowa’s congressional delegation earlier this week.

“The issues discussed with Iowa’s members of Congress directly impact Iowa’s electric cooperatives’ ability to deliver affordable and reliable electricity to our member-consumers 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Harry Ruth, CEO of ECI REC. “Electric cooperative leaders view it as their responsibility to those we serve to make sure our elected officials are well aware of how current policies can and will affect everyday Iowans.”

Many of these representatives took time away from the harvest, from jobs and from family to carry the cooperative message to each of Iowa’s seven members of congress on the following legislative measures:

1. A sound U.S. energy policy is critical to electric cooperatives as we make plans for providing power to our member consumers now and into the future. The impact of current energy policy and the speed of transition from coal-based generation to other generation sources will have a significant impact on our member-consumers’ power bills. Electric cooperatives support the creation of a balanced energy policy that protects both economy and the environment.

2. Each year since Fiscal Year 2008, Congress has approved a $6.5 billion loan level for the RUS Electric Loan program. This loan level has not cost the federal government a single cent over that time. Electric cooperatives and the RUS are careful and diligent when it comes to loan management, resulting in an excellent record of loan repayment that will contribute more than $100 million to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction in Fiscal Year 2012. All electric utilities receive subsidies in one form or the other and the rural electric cooperatives receive the least amount of federal subsidy per consumer. We asked our legislators to preserve funding we do receive through these essential programs: RUS, Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program, Power Marketing Administrations and the Federal Energy Management Agency.

3. Electric cooperatives rely significantly on FEMA funds to promptly restore power after severe natural disasters, such as tornadoes, ice storms and floods, and for hazard mitigation projects. Without FEMA assistance, many electric cooperative member-consumers living in these affected areas would face additional burdens of longer wait times for service restoration and the potential for higher rates. Due to the high frequency of recent disasters, FEMA funds are at risk of being depleted. We need to ensure that Iowans impacted by severe storms are not forgotten, and FEMA funding is not redirected to more recent disasters.

“The meetings held with Iowa’s members of Congress and their staffs were very productive. Each office took the time to listen to our concerns and understand our issues from the point of view of the cooperative member-consumer,” said Brian Kading, executive vice president and general manager of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives. “We appreciate their willingness to work with us on energy-related issues and their continued support of rural electric cooperatives.”

The Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, formed in 1942, is the statewide association representing 35 distribution cooperatives in Iowa and seven generation and transmission cooperatives serving approximately 650,000 Iowans in each of the state’s 99 counties. The central mission of Iowa’s electric cooperatives is to deliver power that’s reliable, affordable, safe and environmentally responsible.