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Concerned Citizens of Platte County, Inc. (CCPC)

February 2009 Newsletter

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In this issue



Greetings!

Lots of updates this month on Legislation impacting our health, environment and pocketbook. We have been able to accomplish amazing things like net-metering in Missouri and defeat of pro-coal legislation in Kansas by getting involved and calling our representatives - even in two very conservative states! I have been told by legislators that if they get as few as 5 calls on a bill - it can impact their vote. It's a great opportunity for those of us that take the time and call to steer conversations at the statehouses.

I hope you can join us for Conservation Lobby Day on Feb 17. At a minimum - give your state senator and representative a call - let them know how you feel!

You can go to a "legislator finder" here.


Events
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Conservation Lobby Day - Feb 17

Join us in Jeff City on Feb 17 from 9:30am to 3:30 pm. We walk around the capitol and "lobby" for the good guys! Sponsored by Missouri Votes Conservation, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and Sierra Club. We will car pool from the KC Northland and possibly other locations. Reply if you are interested in riding. Register at MVC's website.

Sustainable Living Show - Zona Rosa - Apr. 4
Our third annual fundraiser brings green vendors from all over the Metro to Zona Rosa in Platte County from 10-3pm on Apr. 4.


Nuclear power and your electric rates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ameren is the utility for the St. Louis side of the state. They would like to build another nuclear power plant at the site of their current plant in Callaway County. Since the "free" market won't loan Ameren money to do this, they want to repeal a consumer protection law that requires utilities to build their power plants first, then charge ratepayers for it when they start receiving the electricity. It's called anti-Construction Work in Progress(CWIP). This initiative petition was passed overwhelmingly in the 1970s after ratepayers were facing 70% rate increases to pay for the last round of nuclear power plants.

SB 228 has been introduced and called "MO Clean and Renewable Energy Construction Act". Even if you think nuclear energy is OK, giving monopoly utilities a blank check to build new generation is not a good idea. Regulators watching them, while good intentioned, are extremely underfunded and out-matched by these utilities. This is a complicated issue and if you would like more information, check out the Missourians for Fair Electric Rates website.


MO and KS Legislation
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Missouri has some interesting items like the repeal of the Ethanol Mandate(SB 11 & HB 224), and the repeal of CWIP(SB 228 mentioned above). Click here for a link to an update on other bills on our website.

Kansas looks like a repeat of last year with the Holcombe power plants being pushed again. The Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy has information on their home page.

Gov. Sebelius of Kansas mentioned in her State-of-the-State address net-metering, energy efficiency standards, state renewable portfolio standard, and incentives for manufacturers of renewable energy components to locate in Kansas.


Insurance for your solar panels
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A bit of a controversy arose when the Public Service Commission ruled that homeowners must have liability insurance before they can sell power back to the grid from their wind and solar installations. The Easy Connect Act, which authorized net-metering in Missouri in 2007, specifically requires no insurance for configurations less than 10 KW. Renew Missouri, the organization that drafted the legislation enabling net metering has filed suit against the PSC to drop the insurance requirement. The PSC is currently revisiting the ruling and I fully expect the insurance issue to be resolved. Read more here.





Contact Information
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phone: 816-877-6760





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