Higher Electric Bills
Dear Editor: “…government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth,” A. Lincoln.
‘‘…government of business, by business, for business shall not perish from Sitka,’’ Sitka Assembly philosophy 2013.
Did your December 2012 electric bill surprise you pleasantly? Mine sure surprised me, and it wasn’t pleasant. Not only are the rates sky high but the 37-day billing cycle didn’t help at all. And now the Assembly wants to raise our rates even more, so that their businesses can enjoy the low rates they’ve engineered for themselves. It is just like Congress voting themselves a raise in pay and exempting themselves from laws and programs the rest of us are forced to obey.
As homeowners, we pay almost DOUBLE what a business/industry/government pays when we go over 3,000KWh. Not only do you pay through the nose for fuel oil and gas for your car, but you also subsidize their electric bill. Not only do you pay through the nose for groceries, but you also subsidize their electric bill. Not only do you pay through the nose for everything you buy on Lincoln Street, but you also subsidize their electric bill. See all those B & Bs out there. You are paying part of their electric bill. I’m tired of subsidizing the Sitka business community and tourism.
Why is it we need to raise the dam at Blue Lake? It is because the business sector is sucking up so much electricity with plans to use even more. The poor homeowner ends up footing the bill. The paper says business uses less than 50 percent of the electricity. I would like to see them using less than 25 percent of the electricity. Ask yourself, do we have electricity to make life better for businesses or better for our home life? Shouldn’t we all be paying for what we use? Why is there a privileged class of users?
Oh yes, there is the old saw about businesses furnishing jobs. Unfortunately that idea of “trickle down economics” just doesn’t work. The rich get richer and the poor get what the people of Sitka have been getting for the past 20 years – increasing residential property taxes and utility rates. We’ve already seen one attempt to put the $6 per thousand property tax cap in the grave.
P.S. Remember, consultants who don’t come up with the right answers for those who hire them don’t get rehired next time. And lastly, we probably get what we deserve in the Assembly since the only interest in government these days is self-interest.
Bill Marx, Sitka
