Governor Dolph ]'iriscm= Pl'0=ss Energy Crisis November ZR, P, M, Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen; I think most Americans now realize that we are in the midst of an cnergy crisis. We have been on the road to that crisis for some years. The reasons for this have been pointed out repeatedly, but until relatively little has been done about it, The longer term ho the basic deterioration in our energy situation include; (1) A Soaring demand for energy in the U.S. as well as elsewhere in the world. (2) Wasteful use of energy in every segment of our society. (3) Federal regulation of natural gas prices which has discouraged exploration while at the same time inflating demand for gas and placing coal at a competitive disadvantage. (4) increasingly severe environmental problems which have further limited the mining and use of coal--our most abundant energy resource. (5) Delays in construction of nuclear plants. (6) Environmental and other inhibitions to the development of Alaskan oil, offshore Californian oil and the prompt release of federal offshore lands for oil and gas exploration. (7) A vacillating oil import policy which has tended to inhibit refinery expansions in the U. S. (S)And most recently price controls which hold U.S, crude oil prices well under world market prices. All of this has resulted in declining production levels of oil and gas in the United States because exploration and development activities have not been encouraged or, in many instances, allowed to keep pace with the demand Our dependence on foreign oil imports has increased markedly. Imports now make up roughly 35% of the oil requirements. Last winter we experienced local shortages of gas and heating oil in some parts Of Texas and elsewhere in the country. EASDUDC was in Vary fight Supplv last summer. The outlook for heating oil supplies for the coming winter was clcarly a very delicate bgilanee between supply and demand evi-n before recent Middle East War Z. brulcu nut and Arahs umb.11?g0r??| wil me 5_ It is cstimatcd that Wil} 1050 13%- 15% of its Lula] Di] rCqui1'cmc:1ts this winter as A 1'G5U`lf of this 85 minion Of Gil that were being cvuufcd OD 9:0 meet U.S. needs have been and canrwt be replaced, even if the embH1'g0 i5 lifted- Each day we fall bghim] by gmughcr 2 to 2 million barrels. I think it would bc helpful 1:0 put this embargo into We all the important role Texas plays in our nati0n's 011 production, In 1972, ?u?r state furnished 38 percent uf the crude Oil produced inthe U.S. In December, Te-xas' daily production uratc will be about 3 million ba;-refs. Under the Middle East embargo, the U. S. is lcsing between 2 and 2 1/2 million barrels each day. In other words, the embargo amounts to more than half of what we produce here in Texas. We are new using up our 011 in storage faster than we are producing oil. These stored reserves will be gona entirely by early next year. And, as a result of the Middle East embargo, the U.S. will have lost approximately 125 million barrels of oil by the end of December, and 400 million barrels by the and uf March. At that point, the United States will expe rience an oi]. shortage of approximately 25 percent in the available supply uf nil. The resulting restr?nticns cnuld have a dramatic adverse effect on the economy cf this state and nation. LeI:'s not delude ourselves about that! These are the dimensions of the energy crisis. Now I think several pcints need to be made; I First, we must not panic or uva:-react. We have enough fuel to g?i through this crisis if we use it wisely. Second. we must recognize that this is a national pr?`?lEURm? Th?f? ETB ma"Y things we can do here in Texas to h?lp alleviate the problem, but the final solutions will have to come as a result of national p?li?Y? `Third, this is not a. partisan issue--and if anyone tries to make it such, we will all sufier the consequences. And fourth, we must stop looking for acapegnats. There is plenty uf blame to gil ?11'Dund. Aa 3 people we have been wasteful. Every na?i0naI administration I0: twenty years has ignored the warning signs. Environmental concerns have not. been against wr The impm-mm mug mw is me no decide who is r?SPOnSib1? the Crisifn but U3 determine what our to C1`i5iB is going to bc, We are in an emergency situation and we must act now. Our task is to be certain that wc are masters of the energy crisis, not its victims. The basic strength nf our entire ueonomy is at stake. If we all cooperate. . . if we cut out the unnecessary energy frills, wc can minimize the impact of fuel shortages, If we fail in this task, wc will face severe cconomic hardships throughout this nation. Let me cite just one example. Here in Vlezxas, the lifeblood uf the huge petrochemical indu.sf.1?y is natural gas. If this industry loses cm1y15% 0f its present gas supplies, the immediate result would be 25, 000 Texans `ould lose their jobs in this industry and others which rely on its products. Everything possible must be done also to assure adequate supplies of fuel needed by our farmers and ranchers to produce food and fiber, We are operating today under federal mandatory allocation. I sha.11 continue 1:0 do all I can to preserve the highest priority for fuel for essential agricultural equipment. S0 we are faced with a question of priorities that only we, as free citizens, can determine. Unless we put up with a. few inconveniences, we will put uurujobs in jeopardy. Our goal must be to save enc1?gy--tu save jobs. In a. situation like this, where 110 one can predict the Middle East situation or the severity of the winter, it is prudent to prepare for the essential to pray for the best. In order to prepare for the worst, I am today outlining a 90-day emergency program for energy conservation in both the public and private sectors. Setting it up on a 90-day basis will allow us to rc-evaluate priorities if the Middle East situation should improve, and to rcadjust specific programs when we know exactly how much energy we are saving. Today, my office is establishing a reporting system which will tell us how much energy Texans are using. This system shall give us sufficient information on consumption to achieve the m0Bt Efficient use of available energy T0 institute this monitoring system, Fm rrzqucstiug voluntary uf an am mzlingz w?l*ll" ulilitivls, rc1'inu1?iu?, and of Zmwsu will gm rcquestucl to U3 G0vc1?nm?'s Olfirc lh?r ami digg;-ilmijmi uf unurgy each month. slam government can and must Lakv the in me mc;-gytgaving ericart. The people of this Slam cannot and Shvuld he expected LO accept sacrifices {hal [heir public officials arc unwilling lc make: As you know, we have already taken first steps. tn provide this Last Spring, I cruatccl G?ve1?n01?'s Energy Cuiiscrvalion Task Farce tu implement energy saving programs thzruughuut state government. I have also creamd the Energy Advisory Council lc pursu;: long-range solutions [ui- the cucrgy problems of Texas. With strong agency support, all state-owned buildings were surveyed at that time to determine to what extent energy reduction could be made while maintaining health and safety standards. As a result, tha State Board 0f Control completely disconnected approximately of all electrical fixtures. ln those buildings where it was possible, ui.: conditioning was turned off at night and cm weekends, In the month of October, we had reduced electrical consumption by 26% in the State Capitol complex. Significant additional savings have been made in the consumption of gasoline, diesel fuel and fuel oil, I believe we have demonstrated conclusively that major savings can be ziwadc through conscious effort and without undue hardship. But we must do more. First, we must reduce the use of motor fuel by all state agencies by 25 percent--and this includes fuel used by state airplanes. Sccuncl, in all statc buildings throughout Texas (except schools and hospitals) will be set at 65 degrees I0: heating arld 78 degrees for cooling. In areas of high humidity. the cooling setting will be 76. Third, the. Executive Director cf State Board of Control will begin work immediately on a ca:r?p0cli11g plan for state to provide parking incentives f01* those: who participate in this program. . Fourth, the Board of Control will zreadjust its cleanup in all state nfficcs throughout Texas so that unly une floor will be lighted at a time in the evening. B0 that all floors will bc dark after midnight. rl State ugunciua will tin- my-m]]cBt Cam, pumiblc LO do jUb_ Sixth. Adjutzmf. Genera.] has reduce;] uw ug., of [uc; by National Guin"] by 25 he ass-urns mc that this will not impair training readiness, And seventh, I am today naming the Texas Education Agency to coordinate an energy saving prugra.111 in 1133 School districts of the state, The goal of this progrmn will be to reduce the energy consumption in the public schools by 15 percent. I am requesting that each school district, with authorization 0{ its Board ?f Education, filo with the Texas Education Agency an energy conservation plan to include the following minimum straps; all at 68 degrees during cold weather and at 78 degrees during warm weather, with the 76 degree variaticglfur areas of high hu.mi.dityj the setting 0f all to 65 degrees 2 half hour prior to the departure of students from a building and reset the thermostats to 68 deg;-ees one hour prior to the arrival of students in the morning; ?-schedule, for the months of January, February and March, classes tu end at 2:30 p.m. for all students; --;schedu1e all student activities, including athletic events, in the afternoons during the months of January, February and March; off all lighting; DH and reduce heat to the minimum in all portions of bu11d5.ngH necessary to the instructional possible, plan maintenance and custodial work to be done dufiog the day rather than at night. Finally. Each superintendent, with the approval of his school board, is asks-d to prepare a plan that will be submitted to the Texas Education Agency for approval that will allow that district, during extreme cold weather, t0 either cluse the School during that Period Di time `oy Start up the school day at mid-morning. when approved these plans would allow the schools a vast saving in energy requirements while at the same time not p?fmlizc them bY cxtending the school term or reducing their state funds dug to a shorter school year- It is conservatively estimated that the Cd mesa Plans during LE F?b:ruaxy and March of 1974 will result in a total saving of 0118 billion gf gas within the public school rooms alcmc enough gas to heat 20, 000 fm' Ons Yeah 1Iw* In . uh tl the- |j Nm than ghnlw?| a {wv :u-mm whirh inn _d 1 Ti- Them am V1 un . ls absolutely essenf nm] second 1 lair first, and bullcli;;g5_ TI "o . . . 1* has mv.l1ca1c:cl1l1at upon enabling an um an order a nationwide 5 pee of 55 mp or trucks and inter 't buses and so 1 ur passenger cars. The 55 mp 11m1t for trucks and buses is regarded as a minimum for th oss vehlcles because speeds slower than that may disrupt schedules and c1 a affect the ccononoyj and fact that because of gear ratios Bp 6 5 0 less than 55 W1].l aclually produce greater consumption of fuel 1-alher than less. It is the opinion of the Texas Transportation Institute, tha State Highway Department, the Department of Public Safety, and other traffic safety experts that the President's proposed differential in speed limits creates turbulam: driving conditions and is essentially unsafe, and that the difference in consumption of fuel by passenger vehicles at 50 as opposed to 55 is negligible. In addition, his announcement has already caused considerable confusion and differences of opinion among the states. For these reasons, I am sending a. wire to President Nixon today urging that he consider 55 speed limits, across the board, for all vehicles. It is estimated that this will save between 5 1/2% to 6% of all gasoline used in the Stats of Texas a significant saving. Believing that a speed limit of 55 is the safest and most effective means of accomplishing this saving, I have asked the State Highway Commission to consider this question immediately and make a determination under its existing authority. But reducing the speed limit is only a partial answer. Most driving; is not done on the open road at high speeds. $eventy percent of all driving is done around our cities and towns, at low speeds. And that is where our citizens can make the most significant saving in gasoline. We simply have got to cut out unessantial automobile trips. The Texas Transportation Institute at Texas tells me that weekday travel in thiu State is about eight trips pox- day per household in urban areas. If each urban ygduggd its travel by one trip per day, it would reduce: gasoline con- sumption by that hy 10 to 15 pe;-cent and would save aight percent of all tho gasoline used In Texan. lh wmiuul NNY hi I It f' ]?e4 pmol hy . wr A I .ni.,,mV . M1 find ni"' 1- Lmyiug We ren ask do more Our errands one ti I slpmacd imc, wei`[Tiund O1. set up Car ?w?g1>>wsu are mc?iings and nn; n~,aJm_ mum I s??1?I functg,-,m,_ V'?mG?ces 1 are ms- ifili. upqp, an Texans 1 Eiwlino Savers 0 re I ucc their gasoline consum Similar {hel reductions mn bY Z0 can be realized in mit ho _-By tut I and office buildings; ning out 311 Ullmecessary lights- furnin off display 1; 5 an Signs after midnight; most im portant by sett' mg our thermostats at 68 degrees to heat and and 78 degrees to cool. Let us be candid about what this means . I means if we all cooperate government, industry, and private citizens that We [night be able to head off rationing. I know that is a goal we all share. It also means we can meet this energy crisis without severely dislocating our economy. If we fail to take these measures we may wake up one morning and discover we don't have the jobs and the paychecks to support the comforts and maintain the standard of living we have worked so hard to achieve. .. As far as industry itself is concerned, I have deliberately avoided setting any specific energy?savi11.g goals because each industry has its own unique energy requirements and because each industry knows far better than we do where itcan effect savings. But I will expect industry to do its share, no less than the rest of us. In the long run, industry has the biggest stake in the outcome of this energy crisis and it is going to have to eliminate every bit of unnecessary energy consumption. But we cannot do it alone and we cannot do it without some basic changes in our national policy. . 1' t' For our sacrifices, we expect the federal government to adopt more rea is 1C pricing policies for our gas and Oil- t' the ex loratiofl We expect the federal government to create more incen wes or of gas and oil. ental needs against We expect the federal government to balance environm compelling energy