In the next several months, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will develop regulations to implement the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard Act of 2004, a new law designed to promote renewable energy sources as part of our future energy supplies.

The proper implementation of this important new law is of paramount importance to Pennsylvania's manufacturing and industrial community. The members of the Industrial Energy Consumers of Pennsylvania (IECPA) and the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council (PCIC) rely on abundant and affordable energy for manufacturing, including efforts to make goods and materials for life-saving medicines, clean water and safer bicycle helmets.

The move to alternative energy sources must be handled in a manner, however, that does not place additional burdens on manufacturers already struggling with increased electricity and natural gas prices.

Also, the regulations should appropriately recognize the steps that our businesses already have taken to decrease energy use and improve efficiency. For example, the chemical industry nationally has improved energy efficiency at their facilities 1.4 percent per year since 1990.

The new law requires 18 percent of all energy sold in the state to come from renewable and advanced generation sources in the next 15 years. It also promotes efficiency improvements for energy producers in an effort to meet the goals.

The law creates two categories of energy sources that power generators can use to sell electricity in the commonwealth. The first includes traditional renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biomass. The second includes saved energy from efficiency upgrades and energy generated from coal waste.

Over the next 15 years, energy companies will have to obtain 8 percent of their electricity from the former and 10 percent from the latter.

The businesses and industries represented by the Industrial Energy Consumers of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council support the increased diversity of energy sources for electricity and the emphasis placed on energy efficiency. Manufacturers will benefit from the development of new sources of energy.

The Rendell administration has lauded the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act as a mechanism to improve the environment, increase the diversity of supply, decrease energy prices for consumers and enhance the competitiveness of Pennsylvania businesses. When the law was passed last year, state officials announced that development of new energy sources will improve the economy and create jobs. The industrial community plans to continue to work with state officials to see that those goals are reached.

IECPA and PCIC, representing companies that purchase large quantities of energy, are particularly well-positioned to comment on energy price issues because of our practical, everyday experience with energy rates.

To do so, state officials must properly implement this law to avoid driving up the cost of energy.

If energy costs rise in Pennsylvania due to the new law, businesses may look to other states without stringent alternative energy standards as areas to build new plants or expand existing ones. This would make Pennsylvania less competitive in attracting new business and jobs.

OUR IECPA and PCIC members, representing companies that purchase large quantities of energy, are urging their industrial and manufacturing sectors to begin planning their strategy for operating under the new law. Our members have made great strides in conserving energy in the past decade. We encourage them to continue their progress in this area, to plan now for the incorporation of the new law into their electricity supply decisions, and potentially, to help to develop renewable resources.

We look forward to working toward the implementation of the new law. The industrial community and state officials all share the same goal of promoting newer, cleaner sources of energy while improving the state's economy and increasing jobs. PAM WITMER is president of the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council.

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