ICPA Press

"Ten years in the making and passed in August of 2005 the act was written to refocus the country on energy independence and reduce America’s spending on foreign energy. According to Mr. Guilford, “While this current Congress has attempted to gut its essential energy production incentives, not a single new drop of oil, therm of natural gas or kilowatt hour of electricity has been produced to lessen our reliance on foreign energy as we are more reliant today on foreign energy than ever before.”

[Cromwell, CT] The Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association (ICPA) today called on Congress to pass immediately and send to the President the “Close the Enron Loophole Act of 2007” (S. 2058, Sen. Carl Levin's (D-MI).

The bill calls on the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the government agency that oversees daily trading contracts, to take further steps to ensure that energy markets operate free from manipulation. The Enron loophole refers to the 2001 scandal case that involved Enron’s manipulation of the California electricity market through trades of electricity contracts. Nineteen individuals were indicted in that investigation.

A key point of frustration for ICPA, which represents 530 Connecticut-companies in the heating oil and related businesses, was last week’s winter predictions by the U.S. Energy Administration which claimed that heating oil would be more expensive than electricity. ICPA Executive Director Gene Guilford pointed out, “Last week the Department of Energy said that electricity heating costs nationally would be about $800, while heating a home with electricity this winter in Connecticut will be closer to $4,800.”

The DOE statement raised eyebrows among energy experts. While the report noted that heating a home with oil would cost $1,827, according to comparative statistics from the Brookhaven National Laboratory, it would take $2,252 worth of electricity to generate the same amount of heat produced by $1,827 worth of heating oil, and that at the average 10.3 a kilowatt-hour noted in the report. Connecticut consumers pay more, at 18c per kilowatt hour.

Mr. Guilford also noted that in last year’s predictions all the estimates from government turned out wrong as the bottom fell out of the market and prices dropped significantly. Many energy analysts believe the same thing could happen this year, pointing out that with nothing fundamental to support these sudden cost increases, prices could fall as quickly as they rose. Many also believe that speculation from Wall Street is the reason behind higher energy prices, thus ICPA’s keen interest in passing the Enron Loophole Act.

Another thorn for energy organizations such as ICPA entails the slowness with which Washington has followed through on its own Energy Policy Act. Ten years in the making and passed in August of 2005 the act was written to refocus the country on energy independence and reduce America’s spending on foreign energy. According to Mr. Guilford, “While this current Congress has attempted to gut its essential energy production incentives, not a single new drop of oil, therm of natural gas or kilowatt hour of electricity has been produced to lessen our reliance on foreign energy as we are more reliant today on foreign energy than ever before.”

Every day, the US purchases $1 billion worth of foreign energy, and crude oil is at record high prices. “We don't like these prices. They hurt us just like everyone else, and we need to work together to take control of our energy future and our energy present, and ICPA has several programs that can help.”

ICPA's members offer a number of programs for enhancing energy efficiency, including loans to directly assist consumers with reducing energy consumption and energy costs,. Consumers can learn more by visiting http://icpa.org/ConsumerInfo.htm.

	ICPA, 10 Alcap Ridge, Cromwell, Connecticut 06416 Tel 860-613-2041 Toll Free 866-521-ICPA Fax 860-632-1122 website www.icpa.org
Contact: Gene Guilford gene@icpa.org or Chris Herb chris@icpa.org
For Immediate Release October 19, 2007

LOCAL OIL DEALERS TELL WASHINGTON TO TAKE ACTION ON ENERGY COSTS "Ten years in the making and passed in August of 2005 the act was written to refocus the country on energy independence and reduce America’s spending on foreign energy. According to Mr. Guilford, “While this current Congress has attempted to gut its essential energy production incentives, not a single new drop of oil, therm of natural gas or kilowatt hour of electricity has been produced to lessen our reliance on foreign energy as we are more reliant today on foreign energy than ever before.” [Cromwell, CT] The Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association (ICPA) today called on Congress to pass immediately and send to the President the “Close the Enron Loophole Act of 2007” (S. 2058, Sen. Carl Levin's (D-MI). The bill calls on the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the government agency that oversees daily trading contracts, to take further steps to ensure that energy markets operate free from manipulation. The Enron loophole refers to the 2001 scandal case that involved Enron’s manipulation of the California electricity market through trades of electricity contracts. Nineteen individuals were indicted in that investigation. A key point of frustration for ICPA, which represents 530 Connecticut-companies in the heating oil and related businesses, was last week’s winter predictions by the U.S. Energy Administration which claimed that heating oil would be more expensive than electricity. ICPA Executive Director Gene Guilford pointed out, “Last week the Department of Energy said that electricity heating costs nationally would be about $800, while heating a home with electricity this winter in Connecticut will be closer to $4,800.” The DOE statement raised eyebrows among energy experts. While the report noted that heating a home with oil would cost $1,827, according to comparative statistics from the Brookhaven National Laboratory, it would take $2,252 worth of electricity to generate the same amount of heat produced by $1,827 worth of heating oil, and that at the average 10.3 a kilowatt-hour noted in the report. Connecticut consumers pay more, at 18c per kilowatt hour. Mr. Guilford also noted that in last year’s predictions all the estimates from government turned out wrong as the bottom fell out of the market and prices dropped significantly. Many energy analysts believe the same thing could happen this year, pointing out that with nothing fundamental to support these sudden cost increases, prices could fall as quickly as they rose. Many also believe that speculation from Wall Street is the reason behind higher energy prices, thus ICPA’s keen interest in passing the Enron Loophole Act. Another thorn for energy organizations such as ICPA entails the slowness with which Washington has followed through on its own Energy Policy Act. Ten years in the making and passed in August of 2005 the act was written to refocus the country on energy independence and reduce America’s spending on foreign energy. According to Mr. Guilford, “While this current Congress has attempted to gut its essential energy production incentives, not a single new drop of oil, therm of natural gas or kilowatt hour of electricity has been produced to lessen our reliance on foreign energy as we are more reliant today on foreign energy than ever before.” Every day, the US purchases $1 billion worth of foreign energy, and crude oil is at record high prices. “We don't like these prices. They hurt us just like everyone else, and we need to work together to take control of our energy future and our energy present, and ICPA has several programs that can help.” ICPA's members offer a number of programs for enhancing energy efficiency, including loans to directly assist consumers with reducing energy consumption and energy costs,. Consumers can learn more by visiting http://icpa.org/ConsumerInfo.htm. XXX


ICPA represents more than 500 Connecticut based independent businesses. These businesses employ 13,000 Connecticut citizens and supply the majority of our state's 1,600 motor fuels outlets and 350 heating fuels dealers. ICPA's offices are at 10 Alcap Ridge, Cromwell, CT 06416. For more information about today's Press Release, contact Gene Guilford or Chris Herb.