State Rep. Terry Backer (D-Stratford) announced passage of a bill he authored, House Bill#5724, An Act Concerning Energy Scarcity And Security, that will take steps to ensure Connecticut's energy planning is in place and alternative strategies have been designed to address the ever increasing cost and potential supply disruption in the face of global oil supply constrictions.

Representative Backer, co-founder of the Connecticut Legislative Peak Oil and Natural Gas Caucus said, "We are standing at the doorstep of a sea change in energy and our consumption of it. The world's oil supply so critical to every aspect of modern life and is not keeping pace with demand globally. It is unlikely that enough supply and flow will ever be generated to satisfy the global economy and demand –everything changes from here in and we must be prepared"


The measure directs the Office of Policy and Management to develop through third parties a scenario planning model as a forecasting tool to determine the impact of escalating oil and natural gas cost and both long and short term oil supply disruptions on almost every activity dependent on petroleum. The output of the model will be used to develop intelligent responses and policies regarding ways to mitigate the economic impact and other impacts on the state, municipalities as well as private citizens.

“We are headed into a new world. One the west has not seen in over one hundred years. We have precious little time to redesign our world if we are to maintain some semblance of the life style now enjoyed. Hopefully my colleagues in the Legislature will be able to better gauge how difficult the future will be when the projections from the model are before them” said Backer

"The state has no plan B for the new world of high oil cost- when it needs plans A through D. I can't think of anything, - and I mean anything , more important to do for the future of the people of Connecticut"

The bill was amended in the House of Representatives to include additional directives to the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, also known as the Clean Energy Fund to study how development of a state Department of Clean Energy would operate to dramatically increase production of solar and other clean energy sources and create jobs for Connecticut citizens in emerging renewable industries.