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The opinion below was issued statewide to the following:
SOUND ENERGY POLICY NEEDED TO POWER TEXAS-SIZED ECONOMY We've all heard the saying "everything is bigger in Texas." When people envision the Lone Star State, they see ten-gallon hats, wide open spaces, immense economic opportunity and a state bursting with pride. Everything is bigger in Texas. Unfortunately, that includes our energy bills. Energy is the lifeblood of all Texas commerce. All facets of the Texas economy are undeniably affected by high energy costs, none perhaps so critically as manufacturers and the 890,000 Texans they employ. Energy costs and reliability directly impact the ability of our state to prosper, grow jobs and compete in the global marketplace -- which is why the Texas Association of Manufacturers (TAM) recently hosted the first-ever Texas Energy Summit. Manufacturers, energy experts, government officials, and business leaders came together with dedicated focus to tackle some of the most important energy issues facing our state. As energy is our lifeblood, manufacturing is a cornerstone of the Texas economy and it is an industry under duress. Although Texas added roughly 7,500 manufacturing jobs last year, manufacturers are struggling in the changing world economy and we can not take our progress for granted. Growth in this sector is a priority given the high-quality nature of manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing workers take home paychecks that are 22 percent higher than the national average, with compensation totaling more than $63,000 a year. Despite last year's growth, Texas has lost 173,000 manufacturing jobs since 1998 and Texas manufacturing employment is down to 9% from 13% just a decade ago. Jobs are vanishing in part because of low foreign production costs as well as drastically lower wages in competing countries. What's more, current jobs and future growth are in jeopardy as manufacturers' labor under higher electricity bills in Texas than in most other states in the union. Higher than average energy costs are an important factor when companies are looking to locate -- or stay -- in our great state. Consider the East Texas paper mill that pays almost twice as much per kilowatt hour as similar mills in Virginia and South Carolina. This means that the East Texas mill -- which employs about 1,000 Texans in high-paying, quality jobs -- spends more than $5 million per year more for power than competing mills in other states. Beyond domestic competition, Texas manufacturers outspend our foreign competitors by tens of millions of dollars in energy costs. More affordable energy in neighboring states, coupled with the globalization of the marketplace requires us to reduce costs on all fronts -- and our energy costs rank among the top three. To ensure our economic prosperity and to simply remain globally viable, Texas needs sound energy policy to produce more cost-effective, reliable power in the decades to come. With this in mind, the Texas Association of Manufacturers has embraced a series of energy principles and outlined key legislative initiatives that we hope will serve as a guidepost for our elected officials as they work to keep Texas moving in the right direction. A sampling of TAM's initiatives includes a renewed focus on market-based energy sources that are cost-effective, diverse and stable. By diversifying our energy sources to include natural gas, renewable energy, liquefied natural gas, coal and nuclear power for example, Texas will be less vulnerable to fluctuations in the supply or price of any one energy source. Texas lawmakers should also consider ways to make transmission of power more cost-effective by encouraging the development of appropriate transmission lines and by developing a system through which energy consumers and suppliers share the infrastructure costs of these lines. Finally, TAM hopes lawmakers will consider redirecting the resources from the System Benefit Fund back to its original purpose of educating consumers and assisting low income, elderly, and disabled Texans. A full listing of TAM's legislative initiatives is available at www.manufacturetexas.org. The energy challenges before us are indeed Texas-sized. But just as you can't build a power plant overnight, solutions to our energy challenges will take thoughtful planning and dedicated focus by energy consumers, producers and lawmakers. Our Legislature has an enormous opportunity to get in front of our energy challenges to develop solutions that will allow Texas to stay true to its reputation for being the biggest and the best in the nation. Tony Bennett is the chairman of the Texas Association of Manufacturers.
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