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ANAHEIM, CALIF., February 25 – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today honored U.S Representative Earl Pomeroy with a Distinguished Service Award.
Rep. Pomeroy led the House effort to create Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, which were included in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The CREBs program, comparable to production tax credits available to investor-owned utilities, provides electric cooperatives incentives to invest in renewable generation resources. This year, the National Rural Utility Cooperative Finance Corporation (NRUCFC) issued $31 million in CREB bonds for six cooperatives in five states. Pomeroy was a lead sponsor of the 2007 extension of the program.
This year, Rep. Pomeroy is cosponsoring legislation to address the unfair business practices of railroads that have driven up shipping costs for some cooperatives by as much as 400 to 500 percent. He has been willing to take this important issue on in spite of a strong railroad presence in his district.
Rep. Pomeroy’s service to electric cooperatives extends beyond energy issues. As a member of the influential House Ways and Means Committee, has been a champion for rural health care. In the face of strong opposition from the leadership, Rep. Pomeroy successfully fought for an amendment to equalize federal Medicare payments between urban and rural hospitals. This effort has helped keep down health care costs for cooperatives by allowing rural hospitals to stay open, physicians to remain in rural areas and ambulance service to continue.
“A true champion is someone who will take personal political risks, such as the loss of a committee seat, to fight for his constituents,” said Jack Wolfe, President of NRECA. “As Earl Pomeroy has been this champion for the cooperatives, it is right and proper that we recognize his courage with a Distinguished Service Award.”
Dennis Hill, executive vice president and general manager for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, concurred: “In the Congress, Rep. Pomeroy has been a true friend. Rep. Pomeroy’s service on the Ways and Means Committee is so important to NRECA and electric co-ops, as this committee is dominated by members serving from more urban areas.”
More than 10,000 representatives from cooperative electric utilities across the nation are attending the NRECA Annual Meeting, February 24-27, at the Anaheim Convention Center, during which they will set NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2008. In addition to considering and acting upon policy resolutions, delegates receive reports from NRECA officials, hear addresses by key public figures and business experts, and attend panel sessions on major issues affecting electric cooperatives and their consumer owners.
NRECA is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 40 million people in 47 states.
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