HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Gas205
RESOLUTION - NATURAL GAS
WHEREAS, there has been alarming increases in the price of natural
gas, and the City of Paducah and the residents of the City of Paducah are
facing a crisis of extremely grave proportions, and
WHEREAS, natural gas supplies approximately forty percent of the
nation's energy requirements. The State of Kentucky thousands of families
heat their homes with natural gas and hundreds of men and women use natural
gas to heat their business establishments and to fuel their business oper-
ations. Thus, the price of natural gas has a direct, substantial and
immediate impact on the economy of this city in the well being of its
citizens; and
WHEREAS, the price of natural gas continues to escalate and the
crisis will only intensify in the coming months, and
WHEREAS, consumers who heat their homes and operate their business
with natural gas ultimately have no recourse except to pay whatever price is
necessary to insure their survival and their livelihood. Of course, in the
face of such drastic price increases, many will simply be unable to pay.
Businesses will continue to be lost at an appalling rate. Many families,
particularly low and fixed income families, will face a long, cold and in
some cases, Iife threatening winter, without the fuel necessary to heat
their homes; and
WHEREAS, contrary to the basic laws of supply and demand the price
of natural gas continues to soar despite a current over supply of this
natural resource. This unconscionable situation is primarily attributable
to the operation of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, federal and state
regulation thereunder, and the business practices of the natural gas in-
dustry; and
WHEREAS, the welfare of the citizens of the City of Paducah, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the United States of America demands an im-
mediate and effective resolution of this problem;
P10W, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF PADUCAH, KENTUCKY AS
FOLLOWS:
1. The City of Paducah declares its intention to take every
feasible step, consistent with its function and purpose, to protect its
citizens from further unjust and unreasonable natural gas rate increases in
particular and from unjust and unreasonable energy costs in general.
2. The City of Paducah will seek to achieve this objective by
employing all available means to insure that appropriate state and federal
executive, legislative, and regulatory officials are aware of the critical
nature of the problem and use every means at their disposal to effectuate a
timely and equitable resolution to it.
2G6
3. To this end, the Board of Commissioners of the City of Paducah
urges the members of the Kentucky Public Service Commission to take affirma-
tive action, in consolance with the standards set forth in Kentucky Revised
Statutes Chapter 278, to protect the citizens of this state from further
natural gas rate increases. The Commission should not only exercise its
decision making authority in such manner as to accomplish its purpose, but
should immediately develop the capacity to intervene on behalf of the
natural gas consumers of this state in matters pending before the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission which affects the price of natural gas in
Kentucky and otherwise make known to that Commission the urgent need of
Kentucky consumers to be free of excessive natural gas prices.
4. Further, to the extent possible, the citizens of the City of
Paducah should join in the effort to inform the Congress of the United
States of the difficulties created by the current regulatory scheme under
the Natural Gas Policy Act and the drastic affects that this regulatory
scheme has had on the lives of the citizens of Kentucky.
THIS RESOLi7TI0N was adopted on the 8th day of February, 1983.
Joe Viterisi
Mayor Protem
Passed by the Board of Commissioners February 8, 1983
Recorded by Louise McKinney, City Clerk, February 8, 1983.