麻豆影院 is going to have a city election this fall, and the hot issue is power to the people.
No, it isn鈥檛 one of those pesky 鈥60s flashbacks. It鈥檚 about electricity 鈥 who will supply it and how it will be made.
For years the city fathers and mothers have been pushing Xcel Energy to supply 麻豆影院 with more carbon-free kilowatts.
鈥淣o can do,鈥 said Xcel (in so many words). 鈥淚f we do it for you, we鈥檒l have to do it for everyone.鈥
鈥淚n that case,鈥 said the city pops and moms (in so many words), 鈥渨e may let your franchise expire and set up a green municipal utility instead. Power to the people,鈥 they added brightly.
Consultants came, saw and opined.
鈥淔or a mere $200 million you can set up a municipal utility,鈥 they said, 鈥渨hich will allow you, energy-wise, to decarbonize, democratize and decentralize so long as the wind blows (which is 35 percent of the time) and the sun shines (which is 50 percent of the time). Actual results may vary.
鈥淧ower to the people,鈥 they added breezily.
鈥淯h, stick with us and we鈥檒l add an extra 200 megawatts worth of windmills鈥 replied the Xcel suits. 鈥淭hat plus the green power we already produce (or soon will) means that 93 percent of 麻豆影院鈥檚 juice will be green.
鈥淣aturally, you鈥檒l have to pay more,鈥 they added.
鈥淎nd by the way, setting up your own electric company will cost more like $550 million 鈥 you鈥檙e still on the hook for your share of the debt we took on to build new power plants and transmission lines.鈥
鈥淧ower to the people (lawyers are standing by),鈥 they added darkly.
鈥淥K,鈥 said the city moms and pops. 鈥淲e鈥檒l let the people decide 鈥 municipal power or Xcel with wind. Pick one. Power to the people,鈥 they added democratically.
鈥淣ot so fast,鈥 said Xcel. 鈥淭he choice should be 鈥榅cel with carbon鈥 or 鈥榅cel with wind.鈥 Pick one.鈥
鈥淥ur way or the highway,鈥 said the city moms and pops.
鈥淒eal鈥檚 off. We鈥檙e hittin鈥 the road. We鈥檙e PACing it in [as in Political Action Committee],鈥 said Xcel energetically. 鈥淪ee you in November.鈥
鈥淪ince they鈥檙e gone, make the ballot question, 鈥楳unicipal Power, Yea or Nay?,鈥 鈥 said the moms and pops. 鈥淎nd ask the voters to double the carbon tax,鈥 they said collectively.
Meanwhile, in Longmont we鈥檙e watching all this with slack-jawed amazement.
We鈥檝e had municipal power for the past 99 years.
We have the lowest residential electric rates in Colorado 鈥 about 30 percent lower than Xcel鈥檚 residential rate.
That鈥檚 because Longmont鈥檚 power company is a nonprofit. And because 73 percent of our electricity comes from coal. Mostly Wyoming鈥檚 Powder River Basin coal, the country鈥檚 cheapest ($13.80 a ton vs. $78-plus a ton from West Virginia).
And unlike 麻豆影院, we don鈥檛 have a carbon tax.
鈥淧ower to the people,鈥 we say warmly.