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Energy |
Having the highest electrical rates in the continental US is a distinction that does not serve Connecticut well. Keeping, and attracting business, is hard enough without this added burden. Manufacturing consumes electricity, plain and simple. The cost differential of our current electrical rates not only hurt us as individual consumers -- they drive out the jobs that help keep our state vibrant.
The problem did not spring up overnight. An ill-advised deregulating of the utilities, the rising cost of fuel, resistance to building new generating capacity and power lines, the sluggish pace of introducing alternative sources of power -- all have played their part.
So too has the escalating rate of profit of those who sell power. When regulated, the utilities were kept to a 10% cap of profit; now they average 40% to 100% profit in Connecticut.
What to do? There are many proposals. Some that seem to make sense are:
Encouraging pooled purchases of power, like the Manufacturers Alliance of Connecticut has set up for their members. As with insurance, pooled purchases bring significant savings.
Pick up the pace of Project 100 -- our state program to foster clean alternative energy sources. Some projects have been waiting three years for approval -- let's get on with it.
Find other sensible ways to promote alternative power generation, and cut the red tape and hand-wringing holding up the process. Biomass power generation, for instance, is clean, cheap, and actually helps alleviate land-fill waste. Other states have taken advantage of this new technology while we hem and haw. Enough.
Examine the Attorney General's windfall profits proposal. If a significant portion of the problem id due to price-gouging, set a cap on profits and redistribute the excess back to the rate payers.
Promote conservation. The state has a good program that helps businesses identify ways to cut back their power usage without sacrificing production demands. Keep it going and expand the effort.
The good news is that Connecticut businesses are extremely efficient in their energy use -- so the high rates do not cause the pain they might if we had not been taking pro-active steps over time.
But nobody can deny that we have to, and can, do better. If we want jobs, and we value manufacturing, we have to take this problem on in a much more comprehensive manner. |
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