By: Richard H

Richard H — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:24:44 +0000

Saving the planet, or just the “greening” of APS? Now I ask you, what company wouldn’t want to get paid more for producing less? The ACC mandates massive cuts in electricity usage, and APS immediately requests another rate increase. So, if energy efficiency is supposed to save us money, why is it costing more? The answer: Decoupling– a regulated corporate welfare scheme that allows electric utilities to recover lost revenue and profits due to decreased sales volume from mandated demand reductions, through systematic rate increases and public funding. Under decoupling, utilities are no longer driven by the profit incentive to produce more electricity, since they are guaranteed stable revenue regardless of sales volume. This makes energy efficiency measures more palatable and profitable to utilities, and eliminates the need for growth in the production and consumption of energy. Socialized energy, then, is the ultimate objective of “energy efficiency” programs, clearly to the advantage of the utilities; the losers: ratepayers and taxpayers who assume the cost burden of this boondoggle, burdened by future power shortages/ blackouts and constricted economies from loss of generating infrastructure. The ACC is chartered to provide us with affordable electricity on demand, but their agenda is becoming clear: the phasing out of cheap coal generation through “assumed” carbon taxation, energy conservation, utilities disincentives and costly renewable energy programs. This is big- time fraud and crony capitalism needing investigation and corrective action.

Comments on: APS wants electric energy efficiency to cost more

By: Richard H