PPL Chairman Joins U.S. Sens. Bingaman and Specter to Announce Legislation Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
PPL Corporation said that a bipartisan bill announced Wednesday (7/11) by two U.S. senators — Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) — represents an effective and realistic plan for the United States to begin to address increasing levels of climate-changing greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
“We’re encouraged to see Congress taking steps to address this global problem,” said James H. Miller, PPL chairman, president and chief executive officer. “I applaud the senators for taking a balanced and comprehensive approach, incorporating a number of issues necessary to meet this challenge successfully.”
Miller joined the two senators and other business leaders in Washington, D.C., as the legislative proposal was unveiled.
He said that PPL believes a unified, national approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions is essential. A patchwork of state and regional regulations would be inefficient and potentially conflicting.
The Bingaman-Specter bill aligns with key climate change principles held by PPL. The bill covers all sectors of the economy that emit greenhouse gases. It establishes a system of allowances that would create economic incentives for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cost-effective ways. It also provides federal funding for research, development and deployment of new energy technologies.
“PPL believes that, in order to be effective, any climate change proposal must provide sufficient time and federal support for development of new technologies,” Miller said. “This bill takes the realistic approach of first slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, then reducing them over time.”
The bill would limit greenhouse gas emissions to 2006 levels by 2020, and 1990 levels by 2030. It calls for a 60 percent reduction from current emission levels by 2050, contingent on progress by developing nations, including China and India, whose greenhouse gas emissions will surpass those of the United States.
“As a major energy producer, PPL recognizes a responsibility to address climate change in a reasoned way that works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping our economy strong, reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources and providing a reliable electricity supply,” Miller said.
“We believe the Bingaman-Specter proposal strikes the proper balance to meet those objectives, which is why PPL is supporting the legislation,” he added. “We look forward to working with the senators and their staff members as the bill moves through the legislative process.”
To address climate change, PPL has developed profitable renewable energy projects and plans to invest at least $100 million in renewable energy projects over the next five years. PPL also purchases electricity generated by two wind energy projects in Pennsylvania and is pursuing plans to increase electricity generation at existing nuclear and hydroelectric plants that do not emit greenhouse gases.
In addition, PPL is one of only four U.S. utilities in the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a public-private consortium developing a near-zero-emissions coal-fired power plant that will produce electricity and hydrogen, and can capture carbon dioxide for sequestration.
PPL is a member of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership in Montana to support research and development of technologies that provide for long-term storage of carbon dioxide.
PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls more than 11,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to more than 4 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.