Page 6 - Oil & Energy - March 2013
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6 • OIL
&
ENERGY
NEFI Responds to Obama’s State of the Union Address
After President Barack Obama gave his State of the Union address last
month and urged action on climate change and energy efficiency, New
England Fuel Institute (NEFI) President & CEOMichael C. Trunzo issued a
response the next day. Here is the complete text of Trunzo’s statement.
Last night, President Obama announced his second term agenda
and legislative priorities for the 113th Congress. In the area of energy
and environmental policy, the President urged greater action to
reduce carbon emissions, encourage cleaner domestic energy and
reduce consumer costs.
On behalf of the nation’s mostly small-business and family-run
home heating oil providers and the more than 150,000 people they
employ, the New England Fuel Institute is pleased to remind the
President and members of Congress that America’s home heating oil
industry has been a strong leader in this regard.
Thanks to major progress in areas of conservation, efficiency and
consumer education, the amount of fuel consumed by the average
home has dropped over 40 percent in recent decades. Our industry is
now moving towards a low-sulfur and, as a result, cleaner-burning fuel
that will improve system performance, allow the introduction of new
ultra-efficient technologies and provide even greater consumer savings.
Many oilheat dealers have also embraced renewable fuels. By
blending renewable fuels into home heating oil we can displace over
800 million gallons of petroleum and eliminate 9 million metric tons of
carbon emissions each year. Overall emissions from this lower-sulfur,
bio-blended and more efficient fuel have been shown to rival those of
other heating fuels, including natural gas.
We applaud the President’s call to reduce energy consumption in
residential and commercial buildings. State and federal policies must
be consistent with an “all-of-the-above” approach that works with, not
against, heating oil providers and that does not limit customer choice
or pick one fuel over another.
“Secure and affordable energy is achievable, but Washington must
do more. Barriers to energy production need to be lifted. Greater
investments must be made in energy infrastructure, including
approving the Keystone XL pipeline and facilitating Northeast access
to lower-cost crude oil. Regulatory and tax burdens on small energy
companies like those in our industry must also be addressed.
As the President is well aware, we have long supported increased
transparency, accountability and oversight in the energy markets. We
commend the administration on the decision to defend speculative
position limits in the courts and urge expedited rulemakings to
implement needed reforms. We also remained concerned that Federal
Reserve monetary policies are driving commodity price inflation.
We are ready to work with the President and Congress in pursuit of
a fair and sensible “all-in” energy policy. The once unfathomable
dream of North American energy independence is now within reach.
NEFI Announces Strategic Office Relocations
Effective last month, NEFI has two new addresses as it enhances its
national public policy focus in Washington, DC and continues to offer
New England-based member services.
As NEFI celebrates its 70th Anniversary in 2013, we are excited to
implement the final stages of the 2010 Strategic Plan, which allows us
to provide the heating oil industry with the enhanced national public
policy representation oilheat marketers need in today’s marketplace.
NEFI is pleased to announce its Washington, D.C. office has moved
and is now co-located with the PetroleumMarketers Association of
America (PMAA), our national federation. This will allow both
organizations to enrich their collaborative efforts on national legislative
and regulatory public policy impacting the heating oil industry.
NEFI’s new Washington, DC area address is:
1901 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 500
Arlington, VA 22209
In addition, NEFI recently sold its Watertown, Ma., office building,
where over 7,500 oilheat technicians were educated over the course
of 40 years. This was a planned sale to help strengthen the
organization and allow it to concentrate on public policy initiatives,
while keeping critical member services intact. NEFI will continue to:
• Publish the weekly electronic newsletter
NEON
and the monthly
Oil & Energy Magazine
;
• Host the NEFI Energy Expo in 2013 and the Visions Conference in 2014;
• Offer member service programs for health, dental, and life
insurance, drug testing and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
programs and Weather Forecast Service; and
• Provide compliance, administration and management education in
conjunction with state associations.
NEFI’s New England office address is now:
238 Bedford Street
Lexington, MA 02420
Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same:
Telephone: 617-924-1000, Fax: 617-924-1022
American Energy Revolution Continues to Boom
A House Energy & Commerce subcommittee recently held its first
major hearing of 2013 to examine the major surge in North American
energy production in recent years and the outlook for years to come.
The panel heard from several leading experts, including Adam
Sieminski of the Energy Information Administration (EIA); Daniel Yergin
of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS-CERA); Mary Hutzler
of the Institute for Energy Research (IER); Jennifer Morgan, World
Resources Institute; and Harry Vidas, ICF International.
CONTACTS:
Michael Trunzo, President & CEO:
Jim Collura, NEFI Vice President for Government Affairs:
Mark S. Morgan, Esq., New England Fuel Institute Regulatory Counsel:
Continued …
