Maintaining America’s Affordable Energy Source (NAPSA)—Comparedto other energy sources, natural gas rarely captures the public’s attention. U.S. Energy Consumption Yet it is critical to our economy, providing 24 percent of the energy consumed in the United States— more than coal and nuclear, and second only to petroleum. Millions of jobs depend on affordable and reliable supplies of natural gas. Plus, consumers and industrial users rely on it for heating homes, cooking food, generating electric power and manufacturing chemicals and fertilizers. Natural gas is transported from producing areas to consumers through an interconnected system of underground pipelines that crisscross North America. Relatively invisible, these pipelines provide a constant, reliable supply of energy. This network, however, will need to expand in the coming years to keep pace with demand. The demand for natural gas in the U.S. is growing, despite higher prices. At the same time, traditional supply sources are maturing. To meet this growing demand, experts say the industry must expand production development in regions such as the Rocky Mountains, the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and northern Canada, as well as increase imports from other regions of the globe. The consensus is that these options will require new pipelines to bring these additional supplies to consumers. Pipeline projects are expensive, but the cost of delay and/or inaction is even more expensive. This was the key message in a new report on natural gas pipeline, storage and import facility requirements sponsored by the Interstate Natural Gas Association ofAmerica. The report predicts that a two year delay in needed infrastructure expansions would cost Ameri- ia ou) Dts! Sus Jludeu i ypdedeleciris Sousess Usuarinent of Auzryy, 2008 @ It’s estimated that natural gas provides 24 percent of the energy in the United States. cans as much as $200 billion by the year 2020. Project cancellations could be even more costly, posing a potential threat to our economic security. However, despite the clear-cut case for development, today’s increasingly prevalent Not-In-MyBackyard opposition is resulting in more delay and even project cancellations. Industry leaders believe elected officials need to inform consumers that “just saying no” to these energy projects has real negative consequences—for jobs, our economy and our international competitiveness. Many say a new partnership of consumers, elected officials and industry leaders is needed to ensure that America continues to receive the energy supplies it needs to keep our economy growing. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.ingaa.org.
