.
6/2/13, "
Tea party targeting Southern Co. power monopoly," AP via SF Gate, Ray Henry
"The
Southern Co.
makes billion-dollar decisions that affect millions of people in
Georgia,
yet it has attracted little political scrutiny — until now.
Leaders of the Atlanta Tea Party
are challenging Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power over the
monopoly's reluctance to increase its use of solar power, the ballooning
costs of building a new nuclear power plant and even its legal right to
monopoly status.
The group's action in Georgia seems relatively rare among the loosely linked tea party organizations nationally.
Other
tea party groups have condemned the adoption of "smart" utility meters —
which transmit information about customer usage — due to concerns that
they would intrude on customers' privacy, or have broadly backed less
reliance on foreign energy. But relatively few have endorsed so specific
an energy platform in their own backyards, much less promised to
campaign on it.
"It certainly isn't anything personal, but one of our core values is promoting the free-market system," said
Julianne Thompson,
a co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party.
The
electricity market in Georgia is not a free market. State law gives
electric utilities, including Georgia Power, exclusive rights to serve
customers in designated areas of the state.
Most customers cannot choose
their provider. While
monopolies have more power to charge higher prices than firms in
competitive markets, there are times when it makes sense to allow them
if their prices are regulated....
In
many states, including Texas and most of the Northeast, power delivery
is regulated, but customers can choose who provides their electricity.
Customers in those states can choose from companies that provide such
options as renewable power or a slate of pricing options, including
fixed rates, rates that vary with market fluctuations, or rates that
vary based on when during the day power is used.
Georgia Power makes a natural political foil for the tea party. A 2011 poll conducted by
Yale University and
George Mason University found that tea party members were far more likely than
Democrats,
Republicans or independents to distrust central authority and strongly
opposed energy policies that raise costs, even if there are
other benefits.
Yale University researcher
Anthony Leiserowitz, who worked on the poll, said he was not surprised local tea party supporters might challenge a monopoly.
"That
totally taps into that same sense that there are these big,
institutional forces against which you're a little guy and you need to
rebel," he said.
Utility officials say they welcome the involvement of tea party groups.
"We
listen carefully to the concerns and ideas of the Tea Party, as well as
all other organizations that represent the diverse opinions of
Georgians," company spokesman
Jacob Hawkins said in a statement.
The
tea party locally has proved successful at getting its supporters to
pressure Georgia's leaders into action. Thompson's group was part of a
coalition that leaned on reluctant Republicans to pass limits on
Statehouse lobbying, and they are working on a voter identification and
education project ahead of the 2014 elections to increase their clout
and boost turnout.
Earlier this month,
Debbie Dooley,
another co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party, urged the state's elected utility regulators on the
Public Service Commission,
all Republicans,
to force Georgia Power to use more solar energy. The
commission is currently debating whether to approve Georgia Power's
latest plan for meeting the state's long-term energy needs." via Tom Nelson
-------------------------------------
Ed. note: Please excuse white patch behind part of this post. My longtime hacker is off his meds as usual.
No comments:
Post a Comment