Energy council’s composition criticized

Sierra Club lobbyist says governor's group leans too heavily on oil and gas industries

Gov. Bill Graves has created a council to draft a state energy plan, but an environmentalist said Wednesday that the group was weighted too much toward the oil and natural gas industries.

Graves established the State Energy Resources Coordination Council in an executive order dated Monday. It has 13 members, and its chairman is Lee Allison, of Lawrence, state geologist and director of the Kansas Geological Survey.

In the executive order, Graves said the council could compile information about the state’s energy consumption and energy production and draft an energy plan. His order also said the council would make annual recommendations on energy policy.

But Charles Benjamin, lobbyist for the Sierra Club’s Kansas chapter, said the council’s membership comes too heavily from the oil and gas industries and not enough from renewable energy companies.

The council has representatives of the gas, oil, oil refining and oil marketing industries and one member representing companies that provide electricity from renewable resources, such as wind.

“The governor should have reached out to other, alternative sources of energy, because that’s the future,” he said.

Benjamin made his comments during a break in a conference on wind energy in Lawrence. About 300 state and local officials, utility representatives, wind energy company officials and Kansas landowners interested in wind energy.

Graves spokesman Ben Bauman defended the council’s composition as balanced and said the governor couldn’t ignore the oil and gas industries, given their historical importance to the Kansas economy.

“It’d be nice to expand the list of people on this council indefinitely,” Bauman said. “For the purposes of efficiency, you try to limit things.”

Under Graves’ order, the council is supposed to make recommendations by Jan. 13 to the governor, Legislature and Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities.

Allison said the council probably would have identified the most important energy issues facing Kansas by then but won’t have drafted a comprehensive energy plan.

“The federal government has been trying to do that for three decades, with mixed success,” he said.

Council membershipThe members of the State Energy Resources Coordination Council:¢ Lee Allison, the chairman, Lawrence, state geologist and director of the Kansas Geological Survey.¢ David Dayvault Jr., Wichita, senior manager at the Grant Thornton certified public accounting firm.¢ Spencer Depew, Wichita, an attorney and former bond counsel for the state Board of Regents.¢ Lee C. Gerhard, Lawrence, an oil and natural gas consultant.¢ Barry Hart, Topeka, executive vice president for Kansas Electric Power Cooperative Inc.¢ Walker Hendrix, Lawrence, consumer counsel for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayers Board, which represents residential and small-business consumers.¢ Galen Menard, McPherson, vice president of supply and trading for the National Cooperative Refinery Assn.¢ Dave Phelps, Topeka, executive director of generation, Westar Energy Inc.¢ J. Alex Silver, Leawood, vice president and projects director for Black and Veatch’s energy consulting services section.¢ Michael Volker, Hays, manager of pricing and market research for Midwest Energy Inc.¢ John Wine, Topeka, chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities.¢ Stan Zaremba, Lawrence, founder and president of Zarco Inc., which operates convenience stores in Douglas and Johnson counties.