Bloggin' Umholtz

Energy Analysis

         First and foremost, Many thanks to Scarlett for the wonderful ribbon and sending all those readers my way. I truly hope no one's been "plugged" on my acount. I was "plugged" once and it ain't all that much fun. Hmmmmm, I smell another blog topic. Without further interruption, here is my effort for today.




         Yesterday, while walking through Wal-Mart, I was approached by two people I know and asked what I thought about the recent escalation in underground mine accidents. At first this might seem unusual, unless you happen to know that for the last twenty plus years I have been involved in regulating the energy industry in PA. About half that time has been spent regulating coal mining and the other half, and what I currently do now, has been spent regulating the oil & gas industry.

         So, if you knew me, asking the question would not be too much out of the norm, except that I know very little about underground mining. My area of focus is reclamation and site restoration. I get things to grow and try to keep the soil from ending up in the Chesapeake Bay or the Mississippi Delta. Yes, I have been in deep mines. Yes, I am somewhat familiar with them. And yes, it wasn’t too far from where I live, that the Que Creek mine incident occurred. None of those qualify me as an expert in underground mine disasters or rescues. I tell you this, because now, I’m going to tell you what I believe is going on and it is not limited to underground mining.

         Energy prices are at an all time high. I know this if for no other reason than looking at my wintertime heating bill here in the Snow Belt. With increased costs come increased profits. With increased profit comes increased production and there is a limit to just how far you can push the system until it begins to break down.

         Daily, there are adds in both the newspaper and radio from companies looking to hire people to work in the coal and oil ad gas industries. There is a limited supply of experienced workers out there and once that is exhausted, companies will begin to hire whoever they can. We are at that point.

         The emphasis is on production. Tons of coal or cubic feet of gas equal money and money is good right now. You know the old adage, “make hay while the sun shines”, well, the sun is shining on the energy field at the moment and they are attempting to take full advantage. I don’t blame them, its simply good business. But there is a cost.

         Men and machinery are worked beyond their limits. Maintenance schedules for equipment are ignored and hiring standards are lowered in the quest for production. They need warm breathing bodies to run the machinery. The money is good, so the bodies are available.

         The increased production puts a strain on the already overburdened regulator staff, whether it is state or federal doesn’t matter. When it comes to field staff, they already didn’t have enough to do the job before the rise in prices and taxpayers are not keen on hiring more government employees. This means less frequent inspections, maybe less thorough inspections. This thing just continues to snowball.

         Let’s face it. Mining is a dangerous business. Miners know that going in. The same can be said for extracting gas and oil from underground. Explosive gas under pressure is not something to be dealt with by inexperienced hands. Even on the best of days, when all the “I’s” are dotted and all the “T’s” are crossed, people will get hurt, people will get killed. And we are well beyond the best of days.

         Sooner or later it all comes crashing down. Manpower becomes exhausted. Equipment begins to fail. People die.

         In West Virginia yesterday, two more miners lost their lives. How many more will there be? I haven’t a clue.


          I'll stop now because this is dangerously close to what I do for a living, and it's my day off. Just had to get that off my chest.

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