Is this happening in YOUR states, too? It seems to be a growing trend.

http://www.buzzflash.com/mailbag/06/02/mai06062.html

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Subject: Is this happening in YOUR states, too? It seems to be a growing trend.

Two days ago, I heard -- on NPR/WUGA -- that Georgia Power (the ONLY source of electricity in this state) has applied to the legislature -- almost all Repukelican -- for permission to bill its customers (i.e., everyone who lives anywhere except in a cardboard box under a bridge) hundreds of millions of $$ for planning, designing, and constructing a nuclear power plant. Oh -- and if, for some reason (ha ha) -- the plant is not actually BUILT, GA Power STILL wants to bill its customers for the "research, planning, and designing processes." Anyone smell a rat here????

But it gets even better .Yesterday, a day after GA Power announced its plans to charge customers out the nose whether or not it actually BUILDS the nuclear power plant it "intends" to build or "look into" building, the GA gas company that's already charging outrageous prices for natural gas, announced plans "look into" building a mega pipeline and, of course, pass the charges along to its customers. I just heard this about five minutes ago on WUGA -- and am outraged once again. I mean, THINK about it: these greedy b*st*rds are determined to rip us off whether they deliver or not. Plus, we have no voice in or influence on their grandiose "plans."

Both companies are already charging much more than their services are worth (costs have escalated steadily over the last several years -- and now they're forming these profiteering construction "plans" to gouge us even more. Here in Athens, there are a lot of people who can't afford heat -- or even housing -- as it is. There's a real dichotomy here -- i.e., between rich UGA students who come from metro Atlanta and the poor -- and I'm sure they're even more likely than I am to be priced out of heat/electricity.) Meanwhile, the super-rich are getting even more (and permanent) tax cuts, while billions are being budgeted for Pentagon "weapons systems" and poured into a senseless, useless, self-destructive "war on terror." Oops, I forgot: the new term for the war is "The LONG War." Nothing like perpetual war to ensure a dictatorship and a way to control us rebels by "justified" but secret spying and martial law, right?

I hope, for ALL of your sakes, that this is NOT SOP in YOUR states. But I have a feeling that we've turned into a predator/victim economy, on top of the fact that the *ssh*le-in-Chief has appointed himself King (if not God!) and our first and fourth amendment rights are being trashed.

Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk
Athens, GA (please, somebody, send a helicopter and get me out of here!)
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I would if I could - hang in there

I've been that doesn't have a similarly corrupt power/water/gas company/companies, is Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is what municipal utilities once were everywhere. During the great 'privatization' con in the early 90's DWP said "thanks, but no thanks" and retained ownership of their generation and distribution grids. Ten years later when enron and evergreen and whoever else was busily blackmailing CA for their ten billion dollar surplus through premeditated market and supply manipulation, those of us that lived in LA didn't notice a thing. No "rolling blackouts", no 300% price increases, nothing (a real neener, neener moment).
So unfortunately, this is SOP in most of the country, and we'll continue to pay a heavy price for it.

(no actual power producing capabilities), and as observed about L.A.'s DWP, no power black outs. As a matter of fact, Anaheim guaranteed that there would be no power black outs!

about Anaheim owning theirs too. Good job! Were there any other CA cities that didn't get sucked in?

I heard a commercial for Mid American energy, which powers this computer I'm writing on (my mouse died) and at the end of the ad, the statement said, "paid for by the customers of Mid American Energy.". Now why in the heck do we want to pay for their advertising when they have mega millions and we...don't? This isn't on the scale of what you are talking about, obviously, but it is irritating nonetheless.

The reason that we didn't continue with nuclear power development in the last decade or two was not because of its inherent dangers. It was because it was a financial loser.

When the currentlty existing crop of nuke plants were being planned and built, there were outcries to block them. Among other reasons ws the ridiculous cost. It was only after they were built -- and the negative financial impact hit -- that the power brokers realized that maybe nuclear power wasn't such a good idea after all.

but, as in so many things lately -- we didn't learn. So we're going to repeat the same damn mistake again.

Here in NH the dimwits built a nuclear power plant without gauging the amount of flack the people at the coast would give them about this thing on the water. They went belly up and guess who is bailing them out of bankruptcy? You guessed it, our Republican legislature passed the bill on to the people of NH to get PSNH back onto their feet again. :eyes:

After all, didn't Gawd make private corporations so they could profit from what others pay for?