KENTON, OH (WLIO) - A local electric co-op is sharing its concerns with Congressman Jim Jordan about energy issues that could be coming our way.
Employees of Mid-Ohio Energy sat down with Congressman Jim Jordan to talk about increased power needs in the nation, and how EPA regulations are shutting down coal power plants faster than renewable energy can make up the difference. National energy officials say we are at higher-than-normal risk for blackouts in this part of the country because the demand is going to surpass supply. Mid-Ohio hopes that Washington lawmakers will listen to their concerns to ease up on regulations to run current plants and get new infrastructure built before there is a major catastrophe.
"We've been running, you know, power plants and and distribution lines for some of us, 100 years. We kind of know how the grid works. If they would listen to the energy people, the people who works the grid it would be very helpful. Instead it's more academia that's kind of getting the influence on policy," stated John Metcalf, president and CEO of Mid-Ohio Energy.
The old line is in Ohio, we make things and grow things, and it takes energy to make things to do manufacturing and to food production and everything else, that takes energy and if it's going to be that much harder to get it, it's you know, not a a good thing but that's where the Left wants to take us, this whole environmental social governance mindset that's driven by politics instead of just what's good common sense," said Jim Jordan, (R) 4th District Ohio Congressman.
The concerns that Ohio co-ops have for increased power usage in the future are partially due to the construction of large data centers and the growth of electric vehicles.
