By: Glenn McCullough, Jr.

If there is one area where President Barack Obama and the new Congress should be able to readily and substantively find common ground in 2011, it is energy policy.

As a lifelong Republican appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority and then by President George W. Bush to chair it, I commend Obama for his post-election press conference comments on energy.

The president said: “I don’t think there’s anybody in America who thinks that we’ve got an energy policy that works the way it needs to; that thinks that we shouldn’t be working on energy independence.” He’s right.

If there is one area where President Barack Obama and the new Congress should be able to readily and substantively find common ground in 2011, it is energy policy.

As a lifelong Republican appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority and then by President George W. Bush to chair it, I commend Obama for his post-election press conference comments on energy.

The president said: “I don’t think there’s anybody in America who thinks that we’ve got an energy policy that works the way it needs to; that thinks that we shouldn’t be working on energy independence.” He’s right.

Obama then listed several policies he supports with senators and congressmen across party, ideological and regional lines. These include: expansion of nuclear power, expanded use of natural gas reserves and the transition to electric cars powered with U.S.-made electricity instead of expensive, high-polluting imported oil.

America’s power generation capacity is critically important for our economic security and growth.
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This is certainly the case in the Greater Memphis region, where the economy is anchored by energy-intensive industries such as manufacturing, transportation, distribution, supply-chain management and medical services. These industries and others need affordable and reliable electricity to maintain jobs and increase hiring. They also need the assurances of having a growing and abundant supply of power, as the consequences of lost power (i.e., a single blackout or even rolling blackouts) can be catastrophic.

America needs to continually modernize and expand its power generating capacity, in particular base load power (coal, nuclear, hydro and natural gas) which can produce power consistently and reliably 24/7.

The president and congressional leaders should meet soon to hammer out specifics of an energy law which can be enacted in early 2011 and provide significant economic benefits later in the year. Here are three suggestions for the measure.

Provide federal loan guarantees, as proposed by Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., to build 100 advanced nuclear reactors in the United States over the next 20 years. The nuclear renaissance is already under way with the construction of the first nuclear plant in America in more than 30 years, and 22 proposals for reactors are under review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Some 72 percent of U.S. electricity that does not produce greenhouse gases comes from nuclear power, and 67 percent of Americans, including the president, support the construction of new nuclear plants.

Accelerate electric car use and production. Automobiles and trucks consume more than 65 percent of the crude oil used in the United States. Recently there have been enormous discoveries of natural gas in the U.S. which can be used, in part, to power cars. Reducing our dependence on crude oil is good for the environment. Keeping “petro dollars” in the U.S. will also be a huge and sustained stimulus for our economy.

Rely on renewable sources of electricity where it makes economic sense. Renewable energy is more expensive than coal, nuclear, hydro or natural gas, but there are regions of the country where renewables can work. Arizona has solar, there’s wind on the Great Plains and biomass resources in the Southern states. Almost all recent public policy discussion about powering America has focused on the potential role that solar and wind could play. Yet today these sources account for less than 3 percent of U.S. electricity and their growth faces community, economic and even environmental hurdles.

By accelerating the growth of nuclear power, clean coal, electric cars and renewable power, there would be short-term and sustained job creation, expanded and modernized infrastructure, and affordable and reliable electricity.

There would also be huge environmental benefits. While renewables are no longer seen as the silver bullet for energy policy and “cap and trade” carbon reduction legislation is off the political table for at least two years, it is ironic that environmental improvements could be achieved merely by implementing measures that the vast majority of Americans support.

Democrats and Republicans can find common ground on these policies, resulting in significant economic and environmental benefits. It is time for Obama, the Congress and other Americans to move together to secure our energy future.

Glenn McCullough Jr. is a partner with Ardillo, McCullough & Taggart corporate consultants and a former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

JACKSON, Miss. – SmartSynch Inc., a leading provider of smart grid intelligence for the utility industry, today announced that Glenn L. McCullough Jr. has joined the company’s Board of Directors. McCullough has more than 25 years experience in the utility industry stemming from eight years of public service and 14 years in private business. He served as chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors from 2001 through 2005, where he focused on achieving corporate excellence in the generation and transmission of electric power, stewardship of the Tennessee River system and the environment and regional economic development.

“We are privileged to have Glenn L. McCullough Jr., join our Board,” said Stephen Johnston, SmartSynch’s chief executive officer. “He has a strong track record with many achievements, and his industry knowledge and vision will help SmartSynch maintain a leadership role in the development of a 21stcentury smart grid.”

“SmartSynch’s innovative solutions are enabling the utility industry to migrate towards a fully interconnected power distribution network,” said Mr. McCullough. “SmartSynch made it possible for utilities to use existing public wireless networks to track a customer’s energy consumption data, in lieu of making big capital investments to build their own private communications networks. This makes it more financially feasible for utilities to help their customers better manage their energy consumption, and reduce CO2 emissions – particularly during current economic conditions.”

In June 1997, McCullough was elected Tupelo, Mississippi’s 23rd mayor. During his term, the city of Tupelo received the Innovations in Municipal Government award from the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and earned the 1999 All-America City award from the National Civic League. In 1992, McCullough was appointed director of the Mississippi office of the Appalachian Regional Commission. During his tenure, he enhanced the commitment to technical skills training, physical infrastructure improvements and industrial-park development.

McCullough serves on the Advisory Council of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California, as Chairman of the Board of Directors for NuVision Engineering, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and as a director for the Mississippi Technology Alliance. McCullough holds a degree in agricultural economics from Mississippi State University.

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About SmartSynch

Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., SmartSynch has been developing successful Smart Grid Intelligence solutions for the utility industry since 2000. The company’s clean-tech innovations in the two-way delivery of real-time energy usage data over public wireless networks, in lieu of private network build-outs, have to-date simplified SmartMeter deployments for 75+ major North American utilities, while enabling green-energy initiatives and delivering significantly higher Returns on Resources.

Unlike proprietary, closed-architecture solutions, SmartSynch’s SmartMeters represent future-proof investments in technology. The standards-based IP connectivity enabled in every SmartMeter deployed makes them adaptable and remotely upgradeable to support today’s sensor and communications needs, as well as tomorrow’s opportunities. For more information, contact SmartSynch Media Relations at 601-362-1780, or visit www.smartsynch.com.