America needs a competitive energy standard

Few issues capture and hold the attention of Congress and the administration as energy does, and yet an agreement on energy policy appears as distant today as it has been at any time in recent years. That's because the policies enjoying the latest political currency abandon the attributes most cherished by voters - energy security and affordability.

A case in point is the Clean Energy Standard, or CES, that a Senate panel is considering this week. Under a CES, the federal government mandates that an arbitrary portion of a power plant's fuel must consist of renewable sources. Washington would provide credits, i.e., cash or subsidies, for the use of renewable fuels and nuclear power and partial credit for less favored fuels. Coal, arguably the nation's most abundant and secure fuel, effectively is excluded despite generating more than 40 percent of U.S. electricity. With a CES, the government, not the marketplace, would pick winners, essentially deciding which fuels are best and how electricity should be generated - irrespective of local conditions and concerns.

To read the entire op-ed, click here: www.nma.org/pdf/letters/051612_washington_times.pdf