I get my socialist electricity from government dams and delivered by a socialist electric cooperative and it seems to work just fine here in the Pacific Northwest--it seems it would work just fine on the East Coast
Our power is from a "People's Utility District" and it's pretty awesome for a semi-rural small population situations. I recommend publicly owned utilities in general. Good stuff!
Growing up, I didn't even know what big deal it was, let alone such a good deal. I just thought it was normal.
It works perfectly fine, especially without all those energy lobbyists butting into the elections by buying up all of the politicians so that they can control the state government.
And yet, no one ever accuses all those people in Nebraska who use public power as being a bunch of Communist Marxist Socialist little Cornhuskers, now do they?
As a kid, I remember visiting my grandparents farm.
I was fascinated for hours watching those old wooden windmills go round and round. They were good enough to power the homestead. So I expect you are right.
However, it will take a major push to change the inertia that resulted in burning coal and splitting atoms to provide power to Nebraskans. It doesn't help that the most of them are right-wingers, so they are required to claim the climate change is a myth, or risk being banished by their Republican tribe and simultaneously shunned at their churches.
Central Spain Power is a nightmare of mismanagement. They have shut off power to fire stations and town halls for nonpayment, which of course they bills were being paid. Misbilling is one of their business practices. They lie about solar, also, and the power outages resulting from their decades of deferred maintenance are a real problem.
Fuck these guys. We're better off controlling our own power grid. My friends in Madison, which has a co-op power company, have much cheaper and more reliable electricity.
I appreciate you writing about my little state, but I hoped you would mention Question 1, which aims at restricting the financing options of Pine Tree Power.
"Why should something as basic and necessary for life as electric power be a for-profit business, instead of a public good like streets and schools and emergency services?"
Plenty of "respectable" conservatives believe those should be privatized as well.
Rowley, MA, where my business is, has has municipal power since 1909 when the town bought the grid to light the streets. Of course they don't have garbage collection or recycling now, so I suspect the sentiments of promoting the public good have changed since then.
Where I live in far upstate New York, out village owns the power company. One of its hydroelectric generating stations is located on the other side of the river from me.
Two months ago, they sent a letter in the monthly bill saying they were approved to raise electric rates from 4 cents a kilowatt hour to 5 cents. Meanwhile at my other house in PA, what with the state's stupid "deregulation" where you need to shop for the best price offered in your area every year or so (or get majorly hosed on the price), I'd be lucky to find a company that charges less than 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
In other words, fuck Reagan and his fellow travelers.
I’m a very annoyed CMP customer! I live in section 8 housing and have electric baseboard heat and a heat pump in the living room. I only use the baseboard in the kitchen and the bedrooms in winter. I was on a handy payment plan that averaged my electric payment through the year so I wouldn’t be stuck with the$800 monthly avg bill my neighbors generally had during the winter months. Which is FUCKED, y’all. I make $1300 per month.
Last October, with no warning, CMP informed me that my $150 month bill was going to be upped to $250 for my comfort and convenience, because the rates they we’re paying for electricity had increased in March and they hadn’t passed the increase on to me for 7 months!
Well, friends and neighbors, when your budget is balanced on the sword’s edge as mine is, that is no joke. After haven’t no arrears and paying on time for 10 years, things quickly went to shit within 4 months, and I got kicked off from my convenient pay plan and quickly built a debt. I think I’m some $800 in the hole, and that was from the summer months.
Mainers have a reputation for being independent. It would "be a real shame" if everyone starting putting solar and batteries in their homes and shutting down their nice utility connection. With all the power outages, they probably already have backup generators they would need for three days of cloudy weather.
Funnily enough, I noticed after emerging from lockdown, a lot of local houses and businesses (I’m in Rockland) used their downtime to install solar panels on their roofs. Good to see! 😎
Google “Energy policy in Uruguay”……
I get my socialist electricity from government dams and delivered by a socialist electric cooperative and it seems to work just fine here in the Pacific Northwest--it seems it would work just fine on the East Coast
Mainers are being deluged by outright false advertising from CMP and Versant. There is a vigorous public debate ongoing.
Our power is from a "People's Utility District" and it's pretty awesome for a semi-rural small population situations. I recommend publicly owned utilities in general. Good stuff!
Only if you include nationwide, high speed broadband!!!
Gotta tell my uncle in ME to vote for this!
I grew up in Nebraska, the state with 100% publicly owned power.
Thank you, Sen. George Norris, (R-NE, 1913-1943):
https://neo.ne.gov/info/neq/neq-archive/2019-03-mar/mar2019-03.html
Growing up, I didn't even know what big deal it was, let alone such a good deal. I just thought it was normal.
It works perfectly fine, especially without all those energy lobbyists butting into the elections by buying up all of the politicians so that they can control the state government.
And yet, no one ever accuses all those people in Nebraska who use public power as being a bunch of Communist Marxist Socialist little Cornhuskers, now do they?
Proving the policy has little bearing on the right thing to do…….NE could EASILY be 99% electrical power from wind.
As a kid, I remember visiting my grandparents farm.
I was fascinated for hours watching those old wooden windmills go round and round. They were good enough to power the homestead. So I expect you are right.
However, it will take a major push to change the inertia that resulted in burning coal and splitting atoms to provide power to Nebraskans. It doesn't help that the most of them are right-wingers, so they are required to claim the climate change is a myth, or risk being banished by their Republican tribe and simultaneously shunned at their churches.
I get it. Due to family responsibilities, I’m back in Missouri after a 35 year escape….. look out Texas, and Mississippi. We are coming for you!!!
I'll be voting for Pine Tree Power.
Central Spain Power is a nightmare of mismanagement. They have shut off power to fire stations and town halls for nonpayment, which of course they bills were being paid. Misbilling is one of their business practices. They lie about solar, also, and the power outages resulting from their decades of deferred maintenance are a real problem.
Fuck these guys. We're better off controlling our own power grid. My friends in Madison, which has a co-op power company, have much cheaper and more reliable electricity.
I appreciate you writing about my little state, but I hoped you would mention Question 1, which aims at restricting the financing options of Pine Tree Power.
I love Maine, and used to vaca there every chance I got. Why in hades name are you guys not generating your own power?
Wait, so PG&E is not the actual literal complete worst utility company in this here country?
Wait till you hear about Texas…..
Amazingly, CMP scores worse while not managing to burn down entire towns and kill dozens of people.
National Grid has entered the chat.
Maybe they still are, but losing power during a Maine winter certainly doesn't endear a person to the local electric company.
I'll have you know that we sometimes get frost during winter here as well, and every 12 years or so, up to an inch of snow!
Have not read down, but perhaps allowing public employee unions the right to strike may be useful?
So, private enterprise will have the same expenses as a public utility PLUS vacuuming up profit for the shareholders, and that's gonna save us money?
Based on the number of lobster traps off the Maine coast, couldn't they develop some way to make those lobsters work to generate electricity?
Treadmills!
Do lobsters Zumba?
"Why should something as basic and necessary for life as electric power be a for-profit business, instead of a public good like streets and schools and emergency services?"
Plenty of "respectable" conservatives believe those should be privatized as well.
Rowley, MA, where my business is, has has municipal power since 1909 when the town bought the grid to light the streets. Of course they don't have garbage collection or recycling now, so I suspect the sentiments of promoting the public good have changed since then.
Where I live in far upstate New York, out village owns the power company. One of its hydroelectric generating stations is located on the other side of the river from me.
Two months ago, they sent a letter in the monthly bill saying they were approved to raise electric rates from 4 cents a kilowatt hour to 5 cents. Meanwhile at my other house in PA, what with the state's stupid "deregulation" where you need to shop for the best price offered in your area every year or so (or get majorly hosed on the price), I'd be lucky to find a company that charges less than 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
In other words, fuck Reagan and his fellow travelers.
I’m a very annoyed CMP customer! I live in section 8 housing and have electric baseboard heat and a heat pump in the living room. I only use the baseboard in the kitchen and the bedrooms in winter. I was on a handy payment plan that averaged my electric payment through the year so I wouldn’t be stuck with the$800 monthly avg bill my neighbors generally had during the winter months. Which is FUCKED, y’all. I make $1300 per month.
Last October, with no warning, CMP informed me that my $150 month bill was going to be upped to $250 for my comfort and convenience, because the rates they we’re paying for electricity had increased in March and they hadn’t passed the increase on to me for 7 months!
Well, friends and neighbors, when your budget is balanced on the sword’s edge as mine is, that is no joke. After haven’t no arrears and paying on time for 10 years, things quickly went to shit within 4 months, and I got kicked off from my convenient pay plan and quickly built a debt. I think I’m some $800 in the hole, and that was from the summer months.
In short, fuck CMP in the ear with no lube.
✊😎
Fuck CMP. I'm sorry I his happened to you.
If you have thr energy for it, I'd recommend complaining to your state reps and the PUC.
Mainers have a reputation for being independent. It would "be a real shame" if everyone starting putting solar and batteries in their homes and shutting down their nice utility connection. With all the power outages, they probably already have backup generators they would need for three days of cloudy weather.
Funnily enough, I noticed after emerging from lockdown, a lot of local houses and businesses (I’m in Rockland) used their downtime to install solar panels on their roofs. Good to see! 😎