Full transcript
0:00I'm sure you're all aware of this, but
0:01uh the Chinese are going around the
0:02world right now selling out of the box
0:05solutions, renewable energy plus
0:06batteries to countries in Africa, Asia,
0:09South America. And these countries you
0:11talk if you talk to their leaders, they
0:12don't necessarily want to take Chinese
0:14technology. They're concerned about
0:15China's influence. Uh but they're so
0:17much cheaper than the oil and gas
0:19infrastructure that we are providing,
0:20that we're offering, that they take
0:21these. And that is a national security
0:24threat to the United States of America.
0:25So, if my Republican colleagues are so
0:27concerned about national security, they
0:28should be doubling down on this because
0:30China right now is eating our lunch
0:31around the world. They're developing a
0:32lot of influence because of their
0:34emphasis on renewables.
0:36Now, um I wanted to ask another couple
0:38questions. Um you mentioned the massive
0:41subsidies for oil and gas, which
0:42includes not only tax credits, but much
0:44of our military expenditures. But I want
0:45to talk about the oil and gas
0:46infrastructure. How does gas get
0:48delivered to our homes, Dr. Wakoff?
0:49>> It gets delivered through pipes.
0:51>> And are those pipes free to install?
0:53>> No. In fact, it used to be that when you
0:55bought gas as a homeowner in Minnesota
0:57to heat, which is how most of us heat,
1:00um about a third of the cost was the
1:03pipes. Now, it's more
1:04>> those pipes last
1:05>> Now, it's more than two thirds of the
1:06cost is
1:07>> Yeah. And how do those pipes last
1:08forever?
1:09>> Nope.
1:09>> Uh they have to be repaired and replaced
1:12periodically, right?
1:13>> Yes.
1:13>> I'm going to just note that um I passed
1:16I know something about this because I
1:17passed legislation in the state of
1:18California, SB 1220 uh 1221, uh which
1:22dealt with this issue. And I talked with
1:23a number of utility companies uh in the
1:25state of California that noted that in
1:27many areas replacing the natural gas
1:29infrastructure was so much more
1:30expensive than moving to all electric
1:33that they could literally replace all of
1:35the uh gas burning appliances, home
1:37heating, uh ranges, stoves, etc. with
1:40all electric. They could replace that
1:42for free. The consumer would actually
1:43have a lower cost. So, free appliances,
1:46lower cost utilities, that sounds like a
1:48great deal, right?
1:49>> Sounds good to me.
1:50>> But the reason that they couldn't do
1:51this was because that they have a duty
1:53to serve. And do you do you know what
1:54the duty to serve is? Could you explain
1:55that briefly?
1:56>> So, the idea is that if you have a gas
1:59facility or your gas company in your
2:01area, it needs to be serving every
2:03customer. If you have an electric
2:04company in your area, it needs to be
2:06willing to serve every customer.
2:07>> And so, that means that they're required
2:09right now under existing law in all 50
2:11states to replace that oil and gas
2:13infrastructure, even if it's more
2:14expensive, even if it doesn't make
2:15economic sense. Uh and so, this is um
2:18crazy. Uh and I would just note that
2:20right now what what these witnesses on
2:22the Republican side are proposing is
2:24reinvesting in aging technology that is
2:26becoming more and more expensive day by
2:28day. As we move forward, it is clear
2:30that renewable energy is the future. It
2:31is going to be cheaper in many places or
2:33is it already is cheaper. And and
2:35doubling down on aging oil and gas
2:36infrastructure is like doubling down on
2:38the horse and buggy or wood burning
2:40stoves. And I'm sure that if this
2:41hearing were taking place in 1926
2:43instead of 2026, these witnesses would
2:45probably be testifying in favor of wood
2:47burning stoves right now. With that, I
2:48yield back.