<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Rewarding utilities for conservation success through ‘decoupling’]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by stopgreenpath http://www.grist.org/article/Idahos-progressive-utility-rules/ Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:20:00 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/Idahos-progressive-utility-rules/1 decoupling ain't the answer

we have a "decoupled" system in CA, which means that EVERY ratepayer pays a higher "baseline" that is not mitigated by conservation efforts.  utilities get profits just for the privilege of having an open account with ratepayers.

the answer is in CLOSELY linking consumption, point of use generation, environmental harm, and pricing, not the opposite.  decoupling starts with an inappropriate deference to Big Energy profit margins which does not exist in the marketplace.  we do not need to plead, cajole, subsidize, guarantee and otherwise enslave ourselves to Big Energy profits, but extreme deference is the order of the day.

seriously, what will they do if our legislators simply said "we have grown up, we are joining the 21st century and you can no longer externalize the costs of doing business onto ratepayers, taxpayers and the environment?"  you really think they will shut down?  of course not.  they will develop a MODERN business plan that uses our grid as a load-balancing, billing and distribution network (more like the internet) rather than a one-way, dead end pyramid scheme where more and more nature "must" be destroyed to accommodate more and more profits.

the answer lies in simply changing the paradigm so that every property owner can become a renewable power generator and the utilities can not.  it's a different kind of decoupling, more like the anti-trust type (vertical dis-intergration) than the "guaranteed profits even if consumption greatly increases while the foxes are guarding the henhouse" type.

long-term feed in tariff contracts are much more affordable for ratepayers, more conducive towards conservation, allow for profit margins for utilities, create better skilled local jobs, provide economic stimulus and alleviate the need for massive, wasteful, expensive, wilderness-killing power plants and power lines.

i, for one, don't feel that enormous, guaranteed, subsidized Big Utility profits are sacrosanct.  we just need someone with some courage to stand up for us.

the greenest energy is that which you needn't ever produce.

]]> decoupling ain't the answer

we have a "decoupled" system in CA, which means that EVERY ratepayer pays a higher "baseline" that is not mitigated by conservation efforts.  utilities get profits just for the privilege of having an open account with ratepayers.

the answer is in CLOSELY linking consumption, point of use generation, environmental harm, and pricing, not the opposite.  decoupling starts with an inappropriate deference to Big Energy profit margins which does not exist in the marketplace.  we do not need to plead, cajole, subsidize, guarantee and otherwise enslave ourselves to Big Energy profits, but extreme deference is the order of the day.

seriously, what will they do if our legislators simply said "we have grown up, we are joining the 21st century and you can no longer externalize the costs of doing business onto ratepayers, taxpayers and the environment?"  you really think they will shut down?  of course not.  they will develop a MODERN business plan that uses our grid as a load-balancing, billing and distribution network (more like the internet) rather than a one-way, dead end pyramid scheme where more and more nature "must" be destroyed to accommodate more and more profits.

the answer lies in simply changing the paradigm so that every property owner can become a renewable power generator and the utilities can not.  it's a different kind of decoupling, more like the anti-trust type (vertical dis-intergration) than the "guaranteed profits even if consumption greatly increases while the foxes are guarding the henhouse" type.

long-term feed in tariff contracts are much more affordable for ratepayers, more conducive towards conservation, allow for profit margins for utilities, create better skilled local jobs, provide economic stimulus and alleviate the need for massive, wasteful, expensive, wilderness-killing power plants and power lines.

i, for one, don't feel that enormous, guaranteed, subsidized Big Utility profits are sacrosanct.  we just need someone with some courage to stand up for us.

the greenest energy is that which you needn't ever produce.

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