As some communities across the country consider their climate actions, El Pasoans are actively exploring how to improve sustainability and the conservation of natural resources within their communities.

ONE Gas executive Jason Ketchum, VP of Commercial, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, took the stage at TEDxElPaso this month and shared how to grow sustainable communities while maintaining access to reliable and affordable energy.

While there, Ketchum joined Liz O’Hara, regional manager of Community Relations in El Paso to attend meetings with city officials, including Mayor Oscar Leeser, and local media.

These meetings showed how Texas Gas Service is championing sustainability efforts and climate plans in the region and illustrated our willingness to collaborate with key stakeholders for these discussions. The opportunity to meet with local media helped educate journalists about renewable natural gas and our work with local businesses.

The trip culminated with Ketchum's presentation at TEDxElPaso. TEDx events gather local communities to participate in live conversations and performances that foster learning and inspiration and provoke conversations that matter. The event was the perfect platform to share insights on safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy. El Paso is a particularly timely market to have shared his knowledge with because the city is currently shaping climate policies. 

"The biggest goal I see for El Pasoans is balancing sustainability with affordability,” said Ketchum. “It’s critical to come at this from all angles and push forward on the sustainability agenda without leaving anyone in the community behind."

3 Ways to Grow Sustainable Communities

Innovation with Purpose

The biggest challenge we face today is not only how to make energy clean, but also how to do so affordably, without sacrificing safety and reliability. Balancing these factors requires innovation with purpose. How to do this is where most disagreement around clean energy stems from — with varying opinions on what to sacrifice. However, none of these factors can be sacrificed for a community to stay strong and grow. Working closely with city managers to understand the current landscape and using the four factors of safety, reliability, affordability and sustainability will help formulate the most effective innovation strategy for a market.

Collaborative Conversations

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to energy solutions. Each community has unique needs and ambitions. Finding a solution entails identifying the constraints in each community through collaborative conversations with experts across all aspects of energy. Working together, a solution that encompasses safety, reliability, affordability and sustainability can be found.

Affordability is Critical

Maintaining affordable energy in El Paso while moving sustainability forward is the most significant balancing act in the community. We can achieve the greatest success in El Paso by using the four factors discussed above. These guide rails can be adjusted to find the sweet spot to reach the community’s climate goals.  

Ketchum was also interviewed on El Paso’s NPR show, “El Paso Prime Time” which can be streamed below.

KTEP Interview with Jason Ketchum from ONE Gas Communications on Vimeo.