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Everyday Americans across the country are benefiting from low-cost energy with the average price for a gallon of gasoline hovering around $1.75 and natural gas prices falling to historic lows. In fact, data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that households are spending less today on energy goods and services than almost any point in recent history.

In January, energy expenditures fell to less than 4 percent of total consumer spending, a sharp drop from only a few years ago. Consumers don’t just feel the effect of cheap energy at the gas station, the decrease in prices also translates to falling prices for consumer goods and services.

Mike Ralston of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and Bill Gerhard of the Iowa State Building and Constructions Trade Council represent an interesting partnership. While one man speaks for Iowa’s businesses and the other represents thousands of working men and women, respectively, they both agree upon the economic benefits of energy infrastructure expansion and modernization. Published in The Des Moines Register, their joint op-ed highlights the benefits of the Dakota Access Pipeline for the stakeholders they represent, as well as the public at large.

Time spent in a classroom is more than just learning rote facts, it represents an investment in one’s future. Such is the message of a pipeline safety training overview published by LiUNA Local 92. As the video shows, a chance to work on pipelines is never just a temporary job. Pipeline work is a career, and for some, a second chance at achieving a better future.

During today’s hearing of the Iowa Utilities Board, Board Member Nick Wagner stated that demand drives the extraction of energy and that the Dakota Access Pipeline will not influence demand or production of oil.

While Board Member Wagner is correct in stating that demand drives production of oil, regardless of the infrastructure in place, it is important to remember that oil extracted from North Dakota, or even the United States, has to compete against oil derived from other parts of the world. According to estimates, a pipeline reduces transportation costs of oil by anywhere between $5 and $10 a barrel. These are savings that help make oil fields such as the one in North Dakota more competitive against foreign oil.

We urge the Iowa Utilities Board to take the savings that a pipeline such as Dakota Access into account when making their decision on granting the necessary permits for its construction.

With at least 50% of the workers on the project being sourced from the communities around the pipeline route, it is clear that the economic potential of the Dakota Access Pipeline should be a significant factor in the decision of the Iowa Utilities Board. Creating a safe and modern energy infrastructure also generates economic opportunity, and that is something that the IUB should consider.