Cities have enough on plates, don’t need utility business too

City Councilor Pat Davis Senate Bill 165 is being considered to provide Local Choice Energy. Local Choice Energy would give municipalities, counties and tribal entities the ability to take over utility services in their area. As president of the Albuquerque City Council, I can tell you from first-hand experience the city of Albuquerque has no business running a utility. No one who thinks their local electeds aren’t doing enough to solve housing, crime or just deliver basic services thinks it’s a good idea to add running utilities to their plates. Imagine if your utility grid was suddenly competing for the same political priorities and funds as your pothole and playground funds. When we talk to other cities who have tread this path, it appears that many electeds and their constituents now regret it. In many states, the costs increase, not decrease as supporters claim, and the programs rely on out-of-state energy brokers to have the program work. Here’s the scary part — those out-of-state energy brokers aren’t regulated like our current utilities, which means the burden of oversight and negotiation rests on the city, county or tribal entity. Most of our staff are already overtaxed, which means we will […]

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