All utilities, including PSE, have caring and dedicated workers who do their cold and dangerous work around the clock. But PSE is a foreign-owned private utility concerned with its return on investment. Management must reflect this priority.
Much of the electricity in this state is delivered by municipal and public utilities and rural cooperatives at rates much lower than PSE. The sole purpose of public utilities is to provide service to their customers, recovering costs with no profit. Lewis County PUD rates for residential and farm customers is a $0.43 per day basic charge, plus $0.0491 per kilowatt-hour. Look at your electric bill! The PSE rate is $0.0953 per kw-hr.
Days without power were less in surrounding areas served by public utilities with 0-to-2.5 days on average.
The Washington Utility and Transportation Commission is charged with regulating PSE, but the UTC energy director stated that his agency “doesn’t micromanage the utility like that.”
Providing essential services during an emergency affecting 457,000 households should be a subject for some “managing,” if regulation is to mean anything. The regulators should do more than just determine a fair rate of return – pretty much what the utility asks for.
Societal issues such as trimming trees on private property can be dealt with much better with local control, which public utilities provide. Do your own research on this topic and support an alternative.
