Wisconsin State Journal: Natural gas is key to Wisconsin's energy security

Excerpts below - read the full article in the Wisconsin State Journal by Peter Barca, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, former minority leader of the Wisconsin Assembly and president of Wisconsin Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future.

"The conflict in Iran has wide-ranging consequences for our energy markets. That is inescapable. If you aren’t hearing it on the news, you’re seeing it in the prices at your local Kwik Trip or your electricity bill.

But one thing that has been laid bare by blockading the world’s most energy-rich region: Energy security is national security, and if the cost and ready availability of power wasn’t front of mind before, it certainly is now.

The blockade in Iran is causing higher prices and inflationary pressures for Wisconsin families — and the longer it goes on, the longer the impacts will stay. But this supply squeeze has also shown that countries with strong and diverse domestic supplies of energy, particularly natural gas, have been able to better insulate everyday consumers from that global turmoil. It hasn’t completely stopped the impact — anyone who handles the checkbook in their family can tell you that — but it has made a tangible difference in both price shocks and reliability.

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The bottom line: A firm supply of natural gas-powered energy is necessary to weather any storm, whether it’s halfway across the world or here in Wisconsin. Conflicts such as the one in Iran remind us that reliability is not a buzzword -- it’s vital infrastructure like hospitals and emergency services. It’s the power in your home or your kid’s school.

If we do not act to shore up our system with new available, reliable and domestic sources, we could face the “energy triage” that is forcing many Asian countries to take drastic energy conservation measures."