Editorial from the
Santa Fe New Mexican.com - The notion that Santa Fe -- city and county together -- should explore the ownership of an independent municipal power utility is intriguing. Right now, Santa Fe and most of the county receive their electricity from Public Service Co. of New Mexico. Most of that power, as we know, is generated from coal-fired power plants in northwestern New Mexico. Plants, by the way, that are known for the pollutants they emit as much as the jobs they bring to the Four Corners area. Local citizens think there might be a different way to bring electricity to Santa Fe and more than 1,500 people have signed a petition asking the City Council to study the idea -- a renewable-energy municipal power utility owned by the public. That's a decent number of signatures, considering driving force, local builder Faren Dancer, just started gathering names on Jan. 12. Adding steam to the effort is this news from Santa Fe County Commissioner Kathy Holian: she says the joint city and county Regional Planning Authority has allocated $25,000 to study the idea. It's not unheard of for cities to own utilities. Santa Fe, for example, owns its own water company. Up on the Hill, Los Alamos County manages electricity, gas, water and waste for residents. Under that arrangement, PNM still owns the power lines, which Los Alamos then leases. The benefit to consumers is that the county can control its rates more closely, as well as push harder to develop alternative energy. Of course, the proposal is just in its infancy, but we hope to see both governments -- as well as the citizens who are backing the concept -- work hard to see whether Santa Fe is the right place for a citizen-owned electric company.
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Santa Fe New Mexican editorial: Powering up Santa Fe?
Editorial from the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - The notion that Santa Fe -- city and county together -- should explore the ownership of an independent municipal power utility is intriguing. Right now, Santa Fe and most of the county receive their electricity from Public Service Co. of New Mexico. Most of that power, as we know, is generated from coal-fired power plants in northwestern New Mexico. Plants, by the way, that are known for the pollutants they emit as much as the jobs they bring to the Four Corners area. Local citizens think there might be a different way to bring electricity to Santa Fe and more than 1,500 people have signed a petition asking the City Council to study the idea -- a renewable-energy municipal power utility owned by the public. That's a decent number of signatures, considering driving force, local builder Faren Dancer, just started gathering names on Jan. 12. Adding steam to the effort is this news from Santa Fe County Commissioner Kathy Holian: she says the joint city and county Regional Planning Authority has allocated $25,000 to study the idea. It's not unheard of for cities to own utilities. Santa Fe, for example, owns its own water company. Up on the Hill, Los Alamos County manages electricity, gas, water and waste for residents. Under that arrangement, PNM still owns the power lines, which Los Alamos then leases. The benefit to consumers is that the county can control its rates more closely, as well as push harder to develop alternative energy. Of course, the proposal is just in its infancy, but we hope to see both governments -- as well as the citizens who are backing the concept -- work hard to see whether Santa Fe is the right place for a citizen-owned electric company. Read more
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1 comments:
Santa Fe needs to be very careful with this idea. The history, operation and problems of Austin (TX) Energy is something people should look at.
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