City council took bold step on utility proposal | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 11:12 am Wednesday, August 3, 2016

To the editor:

I want to congratulate the Bainbridge city council on their 5-2 vote to authorize a study of the feasibility of setting up a city-run electric utility.

There were many conflicting facts aired at the council meeting and in this newspaper. The authorized study will enable us all to examine a common set of data to determine if setting up a city-run electric utility is the right way to go.

It would have been easy for the council to delay or simply vote no as various voices advocated. Instead the council voted boldly to help us all get the facts. Some argued that the study’s $100k cost should be spent on actual problems the city faces.

As Erika Shriner commented at the meeting, our electricity system IS an actual problem. In fact, our energy use is related to the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced — the climate crisis that threatens all that we hold dear. The study will enable us to take a cautious step on the path of potentially getting off of PSE’s coal and gas-powered system and move onto the Bonneville Power Administration’s nearly 100 percent hydro-powered electricity. If we can pry loose from the financial interests of the Macquarie Group in Australia (which is a part owner of the coal plant in Montana), we may have the freedom to achieve an even more visionary energy future.

For me — I cannot bear to know that every time I turn on the lights, I am contributing to the devastation of the planet. Thank you Bainbridge city council.

FRAN KORTEN

Bainbridge Island