Petit Jean Electric Supports Policies Prioritizing Reliable, Affordable Electricity
Petit Jean Electric Cooperative works hard to keep your electric bills as affordable as possible. But did you know that Petit Jean Electric Cooperative works with more than 900 other local electric cooperatives across the United States to keep your electric bills as low as possible? Petit Jean Electric Cooperative must not only keep its eyes on the local level, but also the national level, to keep electric rates reasonably priced. Many things happen on the national level that may seem far away and without consequences, however, eventually U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, like chickens coming home to roost, ultimately have an impact on Petit Jean Electric Cooperative members.
For example, due to the impact of issues related to the settlement agreement between the Sierra Club and Entergy Arkansas, LLC., Arkansas is now being forced to close two coal-fired plants, forcing the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas to build new gas-fired generation plants. This means ratepayers in Arkansas will pay for new generation stations while also paying for stranded costs from shuttered generation plants. Petit Jean Electric Cooperative, like every electric cooperative across the United States, is fighting the same battle — how to control increasing costs due to burdensome federal regulations. For this reason, Petit Jean Electric Cooperative works with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) – comprised of more than 900 member-owned electric cooperatives, representing 42 million other Americans and covering 56% of the nation’s landscape. NRECA acts as an advocacy organization to leverage the cooperatives’ collective voices and provide political weight to resist unwise and overly aggressive federal regulations.
In fact, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson recently issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the new administration’s opportunity to advance a pro-energy agenda that prioritizes reliability and reasonably priced rates: “President Trump’s pledge to dramatically increase U.S. energy supply and achieve energy dominance resonates strongly with electric cooperatives. We look forward to working with him to implement a pro-energy agenda that prioritizes electric reliability and affordability and strengthens the nation’s grid.
“America is at an energy crossroads, and the electric grid’s reliability hangs in the balance. Critical generation resources are being retired faster than they can be reliably replaced. At the same time, electricity demand is surging as power-hungry data centers and new manufacturing plants come online. Smart energy policies that keep the lights on are more important than ever.”
At Petit Jean Electric Cooperative, we know these are challenging days for our members who are working to pay their bills and “keep the lights on.” For this reason, we are working diligently for you at all levels — local, state and national — to control costs, fight overbearing regulations and ensure that we continue to provide our members with affordable, reliable power in a responsible manner.
Petit Jean Electric Cooperative is always working for you. Our dispatchers and crews stand ready 24/7, 365 days a year to serve you. If you need help with your energy usage, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at (501) 745-2493. Help with your energy needs is always just a local phone call away.
