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Governor Jon Corzine and the New Jersey Legislature
have taken bold steps to position New Jersey in the
debate over greenhouse gases. In February, the
governor signed Executive Order 54. In June the
legislature passed, and the governor signed, the
Global Warming Response Act. These actions call for
the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
to 1990 levels by 2020, approximately a 20 percent
reduction. In addition, the law calls for further
reductions of emissions to 80 percent below 2006
levels by the year 2050.
Natural gas should play a key role in helping the
state achieve these greenhouse gas reductions. As
one of the cleanest, most efficient and
environmentally friendly energy sources, natural gas
is the bridge fuel that will reduce greenhouse gas
emissions while technological advances develop ways
to provide energy sources that emit no pollutants —
a goal we all want to see as soon as possible.
The
Company has also been working in a collaborative
effort with other New Jersey utilities and
stakeholders in the New Jersey Energy Master Plan (EMP)
process to achieve the Governor’s energy and
environmental goals. The EMP seeks to reduce energy
consumption 20% by the year 2020 and have 20% of the
energy needs of New Jersey consumers provided
through Class 1 renewable sources, i.e., solar, wind
and biomass. Significant changes in consumer
behavior will be critical to the success of the
states initiatives.
With the help of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU),
natural gas utilities can help reduce energy
consumption and GHG emissions in two ways. First,
the BPU could provide incentives for homeowners and
businesses to upgrade the efficiency of their
appliances. Too much of the existing stock of home
appliances have efficiency ratings of 60 percent or
worse. Manufacturers now produce appliances with
efficiency ratings of 90 percent or greater.
Natural gas per-capita consumption has been reduced
by 20 percent since 1982, thanks to improvements in
appliance efficiency and better insulation. The
state should design conservation and efficiency
programs to encourage consumers to install high
efficiency appliances.
The
second way the state can improve air quality is to
provide incentives for customers to convert from oil
to natural gas when that choice is available. The
benefits of the direct use of natural gas in homes
and businesses are clear. Electricity production
loses about 70 percent of the total energy used by
the time it reaches the home. Natural gas, by
contrast, loses less than 10 percent. More
importantly, natural gas is by the far the cleanest
burning fossil fuel: It produces 50 percent fewer
carbon emissions than oil and coal.
For
its part, Elizabethtown Gas has just completed a GHG
inventory of our emissions. We understand where we
are contributing to global warming and are
developing procedures and investments in technology
that will reduce our carbon emissions by 20 percent
by 2020. Beyond that, we plan to be leaders in
emissions reduction by meeting the 2050 goal of
reducing GHG emissions by 80 percent.
The
employees of Elizabethtown Gas and our parent
company, AGL Resources, are true experts in the
energy industry. Over the coming months we will be
working with the Department of Environmental
Protection and the BPU to develop operational
changes to dramatically reduce our own carbon
footprint. In addition, we will work with the
regulators to design programs to help our 265,000
customers use natural gas more efficiently.
I
will report on our progress in the Conference of
Mayors’ next quarterly publication.
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