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Featured Listener Comments Section: Contents List |
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Listener: Dick
Category: Lubbock City Politics
Date: 04 Nov 2009
Time: 13:10:59 -0700
Remote Name: 69.149.122.255
For years LP&L has spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars in advertising telling us how competition between two electric companies
was saving us money on our electric bills. Now all of a sudden the Mayor is
telling us that Lubbock's LP&L is buying XCEL's electric distribution system
which will be more efficient because it will eliminate duplication of electric
lines all over Lubbock. So which will save more money? Competition or
elimination of duplicate services.
How much will it cost to buy XCEL' s distribution system? How much will it cost
to tear out the duplicate lines? How much will it cost to pay off the bonds used
to finance the purchase? Do the taxpayers of Lubbock get to vote on this
purchase? They tell us this will keep electric rates low but how can they pay
for a big bond issue for the purchase and not raise rates?
Lubbock will have a monopoly on electric service. Does this not allow them to
raise rates in order tax citizens via the electric rates and tell us that they
are not raising taxes? Since LP&L will have a monopoly will they quit spending
money on advertising since there is no reason to advertise when you have a
monopoly? Also since there is no competition will the financial records of LP&L
be opened up to public scrutiny since they have no competitor that they need to
keep in the dark about their financial secrets .
Dick Hudgens
Lubbock
Pratt responds:
No, you don't get to vote but you can oppose this before regulatory bodies. The claim is LP&L will be required to kick-in to the city money, not only equal to but greater than, that which is lost in Xcel property & franchise taxes. LP&L will no longer be able to manage itself behind closed doors as they will be a regulated municipal utility but we don't get to vote on board members. Because of the way the behind the scenes numbers work, LP&L will massively increase "profits" far greater than a 1 to 1 up-tick based on meters served. So what you'll have is another big group with gobs of money to hand out for "civic" things such as festivals and theaters. It will be our money paid through rates but handed out as promotion and advertising - just another Civic Lubbock power center. Some of this already exists anyway but it will be greatly expanded.
There are some very good ideas from some council members about changes to the Lubbock Charter to help mitigate problems foreseen. However, the need for those changes is simply an admission that this could be costly to citizens down the road and wouldn't exist if we didn't let the government utility buy the private competitor.
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