Editorial, submitted by LeAnne Doose,
Communications Director, Southern Power District

Currently, our nation's leaders are working to craft an energy policy, and the direction of future legislation is pointing toward addressing concerns about global warming. There has certainly been much debate about this issue, but now it seems that the debate is over. Discussions in the political world no longer focus upon the validity of global warming, but instead are in search of soluitons. Unfortuantely, the solutions for this issue are ones that will be costly for electric consumers. There are projections that global warming solutions could drive up electric rates across the nation significantly, tripling them within the next 10 years.

We all have our own opinions about global warming. But no matter how you feel about global warming, chances are most of us feel the same about our utility bill--we want, and need it to be as low as possible. At this time, we cannot say for certain how our rates here in Nebraska will be affectd by global warming legislation. We are currently ranking at the 5th lowest rates in the nation and are fortunate to hav surplus generation for several years. This puts Nebraska in a good psition, but we cannot let our current status allow us to become complacent about the effects that global warming legislation will have on our daily budgets and our daily lives. We need our local, state and national leaders to know that we need affordable electricity to remain a prioirty.

Southern Power District has joined a nationwide campaign called Our Energy, Our Future, which strives to bring the voice of electric consumers to our elected officials in Washington DC. Through this campaign, we hope to drive home the message that as global warming legislation is debated, affordable electric rates are a factor that cannot be ignored.

The Our Energy, Our Future campaign is currently lunderway across the entir enation. Southern Power District feels a strong sense of duty to make our customers aware of these issues and provide our customers with the ability to voice concerns to our elected representatives. I urge you to join us in the effort and take action now. By joining the effort, you will have the ability to voice your concerns to our U.S. Congressmen and Senators via email or letter.

We cannot afford to wait until this legislation directly affects our utility bills; we must act now as the legislation is being debated. Log on to www.southernpd.com/oeof and be heard.