Jim Ross
To Karen Harbert, U.S. energy policy is stuck in the past and has not kept up with the times.
"We're sitting here in 2014 in an era of abundance, but our regulatory framework is from the '70s and an era of scarcity," said Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy.
Harbert was in West Virginia last week to attend the annual winter meeting of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia. During her visit, she talked about the need to update national energy policy and the need to bring more people on board with the effort.
"For us at the Institute and the Chamber, West Virginia represents all of the opportunities and all of the challenges in our energy landscape," Harbert said.
...
"We believe that if the business community is going to lead, it's got to have a plan we can put forward. It's clear the federal policy is out of step not only with the energy reality but also with the economic reality."
The institute wants local and state business leaders to push for regulations and policies that open things up, Harbert says.
"With the paralysis as it is in Washington, it's time for business to get out front," she said.
The institute is pushing what it says are nine planks for a sound U.S. energy policy:
- Remove barriers to increased domestic oil and natural gas production and fuel manufacturing.
- Maintain coal's role as a vital part of a diverse energy portfolio.
- Expand nuclear energy use and commit to a nuclear waste solution.
- Enhance the competitiveness of renewable sources of energy.
- Promote 21st century energy efficiency and advanced technologies.
- Modernize the permitting process for energy infrastructure.
- Protect energy infrastructure from physical disruptions and cyber attacks.
- Reform the regulatory process for balance, predictability and transparency.
- Ensure a competitive energy workforce.
Read the full article at the State Journal.