________________________________________________________ACTIONET September 30, 2008

Action Alert!

Energy Conservation - HB 2200

The current Legislative session is short, but there’s still plenty you can do!

What You Can Do:

Call or email your State Senator immediately and tell him or her that you support the original HB 2200 *BEFORE* it was amended in committee by the Senate

You can find your State Senator’s phone number by entering your zip code in the “Find Your Elected Officials” box in the lower left-hand corner of the LAMPa website (www.lamp.org). Be sure to click on the “state” tab!

**Please file a post-advocacy report with the LAMPa office by e-mail (lampa@lamp.org) or telephone, (717) 545-3500, with the highlights/responses of your advocacy efforts**

The following is a sample of how your phone call might go:

"My name is ___________, and I'm a constituent.  As a person of faith I support efforts to protect future generations and God's creation by promoting energy conservation.  I urge Senator __________ to oppose the changes made to the Energy Savings Bill in committee, and to support HB 2200 as it passed the House.”

Background (on the original HB 2200)

Time is short as both state and federal lawmakers are preparing to head home for elections.

However, with your encouragement, taking some first steps towards addressing the energy crisis might be on their agenda.  Here’s why: (For more information, see the Energy Conservation Issue Brief on the LAMPa website.)

Demand for electricity in Pennsylvania is growing by 1.5% a year.  This may not sound like much, but if it continues, Pennsylvania will be forced to build twelve new power plants in the next ten years to meet the state’s energy needs!  This will be extremely costly, in regard to both the health of the economy and the environment.  In addition to the power plants, new towers and transmission lines will also be necessary.  When capital, fuel, and construction costs are totaled up, Pennsylvania is faced with spending between $17 and $20 billion by 2018 to meet the growing electricity demand.

Personal conservation is a start, but it is not enough.  Pennsylvania must begin taking comprehensive steps to reduce the demand for electricity in the Commonwealth. 

House Bill 2200, which passed the Pennsylvania House in February with bi-partisan support and is awaiting action in the State Senate, would create programs enabling Pennsylvania to reduce its electricity demand by 2.5% of the 2012 projected demand. 

Source:  Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture)

ELCA Policy Base  (Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice, 1993; Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood For All, 1999)

“Without appropriate environmental care, economic growth cannot be sustained.”