Bob McCarty Writes

“Electricity costs would skyrocket,” according to Vic Svec, senior vice president of investor relations and corporate communications at St. Louis-based Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU).

Photo courtesy Peabody Energy

The statement above came via e-mail in response to my inquiry about whether Peabody, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, had any reaction to the content of the San Francisco Chronicle audio which ends with Barack Obama saying he would take steps to effectively “bankrupt the coal industry.”

Svec’s complete statement, received at 9:29 a.m. CDT today, appears below:

There is obvious cause for alarm when political leaders acknowledge that under onerous cap-and-trade bills that limit coal use, “Electricity costs would skyrocket.

We don’t know who will be running America in the future but we do know what will be.  Coal fuels half of U.S. electricity, and it’s the low-cost half.  Americans strongly support the use of coal, which is the largest source of U.S. energy security.

It is important to note that the comments in question were made in January.  There has been a strong evolution of both candidates understanding of the importance of coal to America as they have traveled America and developed their energy policies.

We are encouraged by both campaigns’ strong comments supporting clean coal in recent months.  And we continue to urge our leaders to turn these words into sensible policies in the months and years ahead.

Vic Svec
Senior Vice President - Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

As a former corporate communications executive accustomed to dealing with political issues, I understand Peabody Energy’s need to balance their concerns about the future of the coal industry (i.e., cheap electricity and 7,000 good jobs at Peabody alone) under an Obama Administration — that’s hard to type — with the need to keep from angering the man (i.e., Obama) who stands a good chance of being elected the nation’s 44th president.  At the same time, however, I think its sad that the future of our nation hangs in the balance over issues like these, thanks to a liberal socialist-leaning Democrat like Obama.

Note: If, after carefully considering the facts above, you find yourself still undecided about who to support in the presidential election Tuesday, remember to listen to “The Poll Whisperer” before you cast your vote.

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For background, see also: Barack Obama’s Plan to Bankrupt Coal Industry Would Cost Missouri, Nation Thousands of Jobs

See also:  Death By 1000 Papercuts on Obama and Coal

UPDATE 11/21/08: Associated Press Business Writer Jim Suhr referenced this article in two articles — here and here — published this afternoon about the future of the coal industry and utilities under Obama.