All the hoopla over ratepayers having to start picking up the tab for electricity to be rendered by Georgia Power at a later date has elements of deja vu.
The "I've seen this movie before" feeling comes from hearing the same arguments that have often been used in the public domain. How many times have you heard someone say, "I don't have kids in school so why should I pay school taxes?" How about, "That bridge won't be ready for use for five years. Why do I have to start paying for it now?"
The answers are so obvious that you wonder why all states haven't chosen to institute these rate recovery laws as Georgia and South Carolina have done. These laws allow the utilities to obtain lower financing rates, reduce the cost of capital by reducing the effective interest rate over the life of the project and ultimately saving the collective ratepayers several hundred million dollars. Such a deal!
The lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the laws are actually frivolous attempts to prevent new nuclear generation capacity.
Dr. Clint Wolfe
Aiken, S.C.
(The writer is executive director for Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness.)
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Thanx Doc.
Peraps a stockholder Dr Wolfe? I'm sure all companies would love to expand by charging their customers a decade in advance. I'm also sure most stockholders would like a guaranteed return like those with Ga Power. Good times, bad times, they've paid a divided every quarter since 1948. Also the largest usesrs of electricity are exempt, so the rate increase just falls on the little guy, the homeowner and small business owner. They have quite a racket going, I'm sure their lobbyists and political contributions have nothing to do with it, usage goes down-raise the rates to make up the shortfall, usage goes up-charge in advance for expansion. At what point is there any risk or responsibilty placed on the stockholders?
I totally support nuclear power, but for years we all paid part of our electric bill to go towards the Yucca Mtn repository. Where is that money now that the project has been nixed? Yep, Wolfe is a stockholder.
I'm sorry. These are private companies with stockholders and bondholders. All of whom are making a pretty good return on their investments. I know, I am one of them. I don't have to pay for my car for 10 years before I drive it. I don't have to pay for a 767 before I fly on one. I don't have to pay for a ship before I take a cruise. I don't have to pay for 10 years before I watch cable TV or before DIRECTV launches a satellite. All of these projects might be a little cheaper to build if we paid for them in advace.....BUT WE DON'T and we should not be paying for nuclear power plants, the output of which will probably be sold out of state on the grid, in ADVANCE. Anyone who thinks this is okay, please start sending me an extra $10 a month now. I plan on starting my own airline in 2020 and need to start paying for a 767 for delivery in 10 years. And anyone who thinks our electricity rates will be "cheaper" because we do this probably thinks healthcare will be "cheaper" if we give it to everyone for "free". When this unit comes on line the electricity will be sold at the going rate on the grid, not at a special GA discount rate. We stockholders love you generous GA utility customers.
Every CSRA legislator drank from this Kool Aid--Republicrats AND Democons alike, without one solitary exception. It's public record. This has got to be the satan spawn of slick lobbyists and corrupt politicians. No one with any honor would have participated in it. Now some shill will undoubtedly chime in to post about all the jobs this preemptive (pre-EMPTY) scheme will bring to the CSRA. Would there be no new jobs if the Southern Company expanded in a less preposterous manner? Champagne buckets also are probably cheaper now than they will be in a decade, but that's no reason to give up on indoor plumbing before you have to.
Why not make it voluntary for those who want to give them free money. I do not want to be paying for equipment that may or may not ever come to fruition. Others might think this is a good idea and want to conttribute, let em but this shouldn't be a mandetory charge for everyone unless it comes with a stock certificate.