Chattanooga Times Free Press: Corker brings electricity and jobs debate to Chattanooga

News
October 31, 2011
by Pam Sohn U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., brought a discussion about electricity and jobs to Chattanooga on Thursday by asking Tennessee Valley business and energy leaders to put their concerns on the table—a UTC roundtable. One after another, the speakers assembled by Corker for the electricity and economic development roundtable at the University of Chattanooga at Tennessee said ever-increasing regulation and rising electric rates are a costly combination. Especially in an era when loss of competitiveness can mean even fewer jobs. Lloyd Webb, energy director of Olin in Charleston, Tenn., said TVA's below-average electric rates helped Olin make a decision years ago to keep its Tennessee plant open and spend $160 million to make its manufacturing process mercury-free. Christopher Guith, vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, showed the roundtable and its audience a slide with more than 50 regulations Guith called "hurdles" for energy developers and businesses. "Nearly 6,000 rules were proposed or finalized in 2010, requiring some $1 trillion in compliance costs on the back of American business," Guith said. Read the full article here.