NATURAL GAS SUPPLY ASSOCIATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 25, 1998

CONTACT: Charlotte LeGates

PHONE: 202/326-9316

FAX: 202/326-9334

E-MAIL: clegates@ngsa.org

Gas Growth Would Be Diminished by Clinton Administration Proposal Mandating Use of Renewables

Proposal Requires Renewables Even If They Increase Pollution!

Washington, D.C. -- Responding today to the Clinton Administration's announcement that it would support a 5.5 percent mandate for renewables as part of its electricity restructuring plan, Natural Gas Supply Association President Nicholas Bush called the proposal "a government attempt at market manipulation, to the detriment of both the economy and the environment."
 
The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration last year reported that a five percent renewables mandate would cost American consumers $2 billion annually and reduce potential natural gas growth by 5 percent.* Some renewables use, such as biomass-fueled electricity generation, has a considerably higher negative impact on both air and water than does use of natural gas. 

"Electricity restructuring promises to save consumers money while letting them compare providers and choose the ones that best suit their needs," Bush said. NGSA supports programs that, for example, permit consumers to choose the fuel generating their electricity. "Fuel mandates like the one proposed today would not grant that choice to fuel generators nor, ultimately, to consumers," Bush noted.
 
NGSA's extensive information on the economic and environmental negatives of mandates for renewables is available at <http://www.renewable.org>. Copies of the administration proposal are available by clicking here.
 

                        * Excerpts from Table F10, Annual Energy Outlook 1998
                           Key Results for Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Cases