IBEW President on Energy Department’s Support of Plains and Eastern Clean Line

March 28, 2016

IBEW International President Lonnie R. Stephenson issued the following statement regarding the Department of Energy’s support of the Plains and Eastern Clean Line.

“I applaud the Energy Department’s decision to endorse the Plains and Eastern Clean Line.

“The transmission project will have the capacity to deliver 4,000 megawatts of low-cost, clean wind energy from the Oklahoma panhandle to consumers and businesses throughout the Southeast. That’s enough electricity to power more than one million homes annually. 

“That not only means more affordable, clean energy for America. It means thousands of good construction and maintenance jobs, which will give the region a needed economic boost. 

“The Energy Department recognizes that our nation desperately needs billions of dollars in new investment in our electrical infrastructure, which can lower costs and provide millions of people easy access to alternative, non-carbon emitting energy sources such as wind and solar.

“As the president of the largest union of electrical workers in North America, I am committed to working with lawmakers, community activists and business leaders to build an energy infrastructure that will power the American economy in the 21st century.