Tag: public utilities

Asheville City Council asks Perdue for veto of water bill

July 25, 2012 at 8:33 amCategory:Uncategorized

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As noted here yesterday afternoon, one of the bills still residing on Governor Perdue’s desk is a controversial proposal that would set the table for a hostile takeover of the city of Asheville’s $173 million water system (and perhaps, full-blown privatization of the public system).

Last night, the Asheville City Council voted unanimously to ask Perdue to veto the bill.

According to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times:

“Members debated whether a gubernatorial veto would stand up and whether it is worth losing another provision of the bill that would protect the city’s seats on the MSD board in the event the agency merges with a Henderson County sewer system.

But they ultimately came around to the position of Mayor Terry Bellamy, who said Council should underline its opposition to a transfer.

‘I don’t support (the bill) and I don’t believe it was written fairly,’ Bellamy said.

This opens the door for our system and other systems around the state’ to be tampered with by the legislature, she said. ‘I don’t think we should take this and let it go. I don’t think this is right.’”

 

Asheville water privatization issue rests with Governor

July 24, 2012 at 4:43 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Governor Perdue still has a few bills sitting on her desk that were sent to her during the waning days of the legislative session. One of them is a measure that’s vehemently opposed by a broad range of groups and individuals in western North Carolina.

The proposal, which  was advanced from scratch during the last couple weeks of the session by Buncombe County lawmaker Tim Moffitt, raises the explosive issue of forcing Asheville to transfer its $173 million municipal water system to the local Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Though the bill itself would not force such a transfer right away, it does appear to lay the groundwork for such a move and, perhaps ultimately, privatization of the system (and maybe other public water systems as well).

Reports indicate that the Asheville City Council will be discussing the issue this evening. It will be interesting to see if Council tries to weigh in with the Governor before her deadline for action at the end of this week.

 

NC gets a little taste of the modern robber baron economy

July 6, 2012 at 9:55 amCategory:Uncategorized

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There are at least a couple of thoughts that occur this morning in wake of the latest news about Duke Energy’s acquisition of (sorry, merger with) Progress Energy (née CP&L):

#1 – While some in the mainstream news media (and the Utilities Commission Public Staff) seem surprised that former progress chief Bill Johnson (right) has now been muscled out of the way and given a platinum parachute by the big Monopoly game winner Jim Rogers (left), my first reaction was: How could you not see this coming? Fat cat, empire-building CEO’s like Rogers are not about sharing power; they’re about winning it and grabbing more. The bottom line here is that Rogers came to this game with more weapons and almost certainly always intended to emerge “victorious.” All the public talk about cooperation and merger were almost certainly p.r. bull.

#2- And as for Johnson, Read More…

Meet the new boss

October 19, 2011 at 2:19 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Here’s a new and sobering report from Democracy NC on the proposed Duke-Progress behemoth…  

“Merged Utilities Would Create State’s Top Corporate PAC,

115 of 170 NC Legislators Have Duke/Progress Donations

The merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy would not only create the largest electric utility in the nation. The combined lobbying muscle of the two companies would likely produce the most politically influential corporation inNorth Carolina, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Democracy North Carolina. Read More…

Top of the morning

September 26, 2011 at 8:18 amCategory:Top of the Morning

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Justice Center Housing and Consumer Policy Director Al Ripley and I have a “Point of View” piece in the Raleigh’s News & Observer this morning entitled “Getting more out of the merger.”

In it, we call on the state Utilities Commission to demand much more of the proposed $90 billion Duke-Progress Energy behemoth to address the needs of low-income consumers than is currently proposed (i.e. a token, one-year contribution roughly equivalent to what the companies pay their two CEO’s).

Here’s the “what should be done” section:

“No one expects Duke, Progress or a new combined statewide monopoly to solve all of North Carolina’s energy and poverty woes. The problems have been long in the making and will not be solved overnight. Still, the notion that North Carolina might allow such a huge and unprecedented event as a Duke-Progress merger to take place without requiring more of a regulated monopoly that exists to serve the public interest than a token, one-time contribution – say, 10 to 20 times more – is shocking.

Let’s fervently hope that the Utilities Commission does the right thing and demands much, much more.”