Tag Archives: Economy

Georgia Power’s Bowers pushes solar misinformation out the next fifty years

Paul Bowers, CEO of Georgia Power, doubled down on baseload nuclear,
coal, and natural gas for the next fifty years.
What’s he scared of?

Nick Coltrain wrote for OnlineAthens yesterday,

Renewable push not in the cards for Ga. Power,


Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers in Georgia Trend, November 2011
“Renewable (energy sources are) going to have a sliver,”
Bowers said of fuels to create electricity. “Is it going to be
2 or 4 percent? That’s yet to be determined. Economics will drive
that. But you always remember (that renewable energy is) an
intermittent resource. It’s not one you can depend on 100 percent of
the time.”

One time you can depend on it is hot summer days when everybody is
air conditioning, which is why

Roger Duncan of Austin Energy in 2003

Austin Energy flipped in one year
from spouting such nonsense to deploying the most aggressive solar rooftop
rebate program in the country.
Austin Energy did the math and found those rebates would cost
about the same as a coal plant and would generate as much energy.
And when it is needed most, unlike the fossilized baseload grid,
which
left millions without power in the U.S. in June
and

hundreds of millions without power in India in July.

Bowers knows better than the nonsense he just spouted;
as recently as

November 2011 he told Georgia Trend,

Continue reading →

Southern Company’s three-legged nuclear regulatory-capture stool


The

failed EDF nuke project at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland
makes it clearer why Southern Company (SO) was the first company
to get a nuclear permit in 30 years:
it was the only one big enough and monopolistic enough to pull it off.
Even then it’s such a

bet-the-farm risk
that even

“great, big company”
SO only dared
to deploy its

“great big huge scale“ equipment
with the regulatory capture triple-whammy
of
a stealth tax on Georgia Power bills,
PSC approval of cost overruns,
and
an $8.33 billion federal loan guarantee:





  1. a legislated
    stealth tax in the form of

    a rate hike on Georgia Power customers     for
    power they won’t get for years if ever.
    If you’re a Georgia Power customer,
    look on your bill for Nuclear Construct Cost Recovery Rider.
    You’ll find it adds about 5% on top of your Current Service Subtotal.
    Georgia is one of only a handful of states where such a
    Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) charge is legal

    thanks to our regulatory-captured legislature.
    Doubling down on bad energy bets,
    Southern Company is also

    trying to use CWIP to build a coal plant in Mississippi.



  2. A captive Public Service Commission that

    rubber-stamps costs     for Plant Vogtle.
    In case there was any doubt as to the PSC’s role in legitimizing those new nukes,
    the very next day Fitch reaffirmed Southern Company’s bond ratings.

    Southern Company’s regulated utility subsidiaries derive predictable
    cash flows from low-risk utility businesses, enjoy relatively
    favorable regulatory framework in their service territories, and
    exhibit limited commodity price risks due to the ability to recover
    fuel and purchased power through separate cost trackers.

    Translation: Georgia Power customers subsidize SO’s bonds
    and SO shareholders’ stock dividends.
    The PSC also approved
    cost overruns being
    passed on to Georgia Power customers,
    and those nukes are already over

    $400 or $900 million    , depending on who you ask.
    What do you expect when

    4 out of 5 Public Service Commissioners
    apparently took 70% of their campaign contributions from utilities
    they regulate or their employees or their law firms,
    and the fifth commissioner took about 20% from such sources?
    Hm, there’s an election going on right now!




  3. An

    $8.33 billion federal loan guarantee.
    Even that’s not good enough for SO and Georgia Power: SO is
    asking for less down payment.

And what if even one of that three-legged regulatory capture stool’s legs
went away?

Continue reading →

Streetlights and Georgia Power @ Hahira 2012-10-01

To get a decent deal on streetlights, a small Georgia city may have
to help change the Georgia Public Service Commission.
Or, an energy concern in Hahira happened to coincide with
a visit by PSC candidate Steve Oppenheimer.



Ralph Clendenin, City Council member, is looking into converting
Hahira's streetlights to LEDs or maybe solar.
He has discussed that with Georgia Power, which will do it for

$250,000 up front.
At a savings of $1,000 a month, that would take quite a while to pay back:
more than 20 years.


Steve Oppenheimer, running for Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC),

found the streetlight issue interesting:



Just like you're looking at options the city might do for better choices for lighting
in terms of serving the people and meeting your budget, as Georgians we need that, too.

He indicated that there are more solutions than we're being told.

To me what's improtant are homeowners rights,
and we get control over the power rates,
because our residential rates and small business rates have gone up about 31% in five years.

He brought up

Dublin's solar streetlights, and

solar for energy and jobs.
He indicated energy was a future source of jobs.

What it comes down to is people like you in this room in the small communities
figuring out what pieces do we put together to make our community better for tomorrow.



Afterwards in the entranceway,

Ralph Clendenin showed Steve Oppenheimer how
he'd figured out that Georgia Power was charging about 73% maintenance
above the electricity cost of the streetlights.
Oppenheimer said there were many options.
Clendenin suggested one:

The option I see right now is, the Commission somehow, has got to change the rules
on how Georgia Power… structures payments.

Oppenheimer suggested a way to get there:

We need a commission with some new leadership,
with some separation from industry, that doesn't have the
apparent conflicts of interest.



Ralph summed it up pithily:

Ralph Clendenin: 73% is that forever payment to Georgia Power.

Steve Oppenheimer: It's a great deal, if you're on the right end of it.

[laughter]

What say we change the end of the stick we the taxpayers are getting from the PSC?

Here's

a playlist.


Work Session, Hahira City Council, Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1 October 2012.

Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

A parallel state school system that we have no control over. —Christie Davis



A local middle school teacher spelled out problems with the
charter school referendum: no local control over creation or operation
of the charter schools it would authorize; money siphoned off from
existing local schools; and charter schools actually perform
worse than traditional public schools anyway.


Christie Davis, a teacher at Hahira Middle School,
speaking at the Lowndes County Tea Party monthly meeting Thursday,
pointed out it’s not just the

preamble
to the referendum that’s misleading.
The actual wording of the referendum is also misleading:

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval
of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?

She remarked:

It sounds very good that we should say yes.
It’s very misleading.
And the reason why it’s misleading is totally purposeful.
It says something about local communities.
We already have that right in our local community, our local boards, to go ahead
and implement a charter school, if we see the need.
However, they put it in there so that voters that don’t really know
what’s going on think they’re helping our local schools by voting yes.
However, by voting yes, it will be funding a parallel state school system
that we have no control over.

Here’s

the video:


A parallel state school system that we have no control over. —Christie Davis

Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2012.

Thanks to Diane Cox, President, Lowndes County Tea Party, for the invitation.

She also got into the financial aspects:

Continue reading →

SPLOST VII project totals don’t match

It would be easier for people to vote for SPLOST VII if they knew
what they were getting.
So far, that’s difficult to tell from what’s been published.
Many questions remain to be answered.

We’ve already seen

the WCTV story that quotes a total of $35 million for SPLOST VII.
And Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT 5 August 2012,

SPLOST project list released:
Renewed sales tax would build library, auditorium



The county projects penny sales tax collections through SPLOST VII
to total at least $150 million during a six-year period, a sum that
could fund a library complex, an auditorium, the installation of a
mandated public safety radio system, an array of municipal water and
sewage improvements, new equipment for police officers and
firefighters, and road maintenance projects.

There is not adequate funding for these projects if the SPLOST
referendum does not pass, according to city and county planners.

$150 million is not $35 million.
$150 million divided by six is $25 million, not $35 million.

The mystery deepens.

Continue reading →

Our honest responses to HUD —George Rhynes and John Robinson

Received today. -jsq

September 26, 2012

George Boston Rhynes

5004 Oak Street

Valdosta, Georgia 31605 		TO: U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development

Valdosta City Government

Valdosta Housing Authority

Valdosta Industrial Authority

The following is our honest responses to HUD and in response to the
City of Valdosta’s 8th Year of responding to HUD CPMP
Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. This includes
Narrative Responses to CAPER questions in relations to and with the
Consolidated Planning Regulations and questions from the general
public as highlighted on page 5, paragraph 1.


CITIZENS VIEW POINT
AND RESPONSES: {GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES AND JOHN ROBNISON}



after reviewing all previous CAPTER’S and the city’s
responses to them, I commend the City of Valdosta for responding to
HUD in an extremely professional manner on paper. One can see and
feel the professional prowess involved in providing these answers
the City of Valdosta has placed on paper over the city’s
(long) historic past. However, when one looks deeper into the
problems facing our beloved community, one will find the following
to be as Paul Harvey would say the rest of——-the story!


GENERAL QUESTIONS: The City of Valdosta’s response on the
issues remains the same as reported in many other CAPERS such as:

  • City attained the goal of:
  • # of homes was brought up to code.
  • Worked in conjunction with——
  • to train, resident
    information sessions were held that yielded nearly 30 attendees etc.
  • Staff continues to…., Overall, the city is pleased with
    the second Consolidated Plan Submission.
  • (3.a) The city hosted
    several Section 3 Information Sessions and will continue to provide
    more information to…. Work with local community and
    faith-based organizations to identify and address.
  • I could go
    on and on with these highly professional lines of what some see as
    solutions to the real problems in the City of Valdosta, Georgia.
    However there is another side and forgive me for not going through
    the complete CAPER in the above manner. I am sure your time is
    valuable; therefore I will cut through the chase and provide the
    following in response to the City of Valdosta RESPONSES. Not only to
    this CAPER but others we have read and taken into consideration:

A recent meeting held in the Valdosta City Annex about Community
Housing etc. perhaps exemplifies

Continue reading →

SPLOST VII campaign kicks off

Update 2012-09-27 8:50AM: Added video, stills, and notes about the County Palace and Internet access.

The seventh Special Local Option Sales Tax, SPLOST,
will be on the November ballot.
Not to be confused with the just-defeated

bogus regional transportation T-SPLOST,
or last year’s successful

educational ESPLOST,
or the

currently renegotiating property-tax-relief LOST,

SPLOST Campaign
SPLOST VII will follow up on SPLOST VI
in supporting local infrastructure projects.

Greg Gullberg reported for WCTV today,

Campaign Kicks Off For Valdosta Tax

(no video appears to be available):

The text story link has vanished, but

video has appeared.

There is a campaign in Lowndes County to rally for the tax called
SPLOST, or the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. It could
bring in as much as $35 million, but that is only if voters say it’s
worth the extra pennies.

Continue reading →

Georgia Power inches towards more solar, trailing New Jersey

If you’re quick, you may be able to sell solar from your roof
to Georgia Power.
If the PSC approves a pending request.
If you get in before that new quota gets filled.
And if you’re a Georgia Power customer.
The rest of us?
Not until the
1973 Georgia Electric Territorial Act
is changed.
Until then, Georgia will continue to lag way behind New Jersey in solar power.


210 MW is more than 50 MW but way less than 3,000 MW

Walter C. Jones wrote for the Augusta Chronicle today,

Georgia Power plans to triple solar power use,

Georgia Power filed Wednesday seeking permission from state
regulators to more than triple the amount of solar power it uses to
generate electricity for its 2.4 million customers by swapping it
for what was already planned from other renewable sources.

What “other renewable sources”?

The Georgia Power plan won’t affect rates because it is based on
paying the solar providers what it would have paid the biomass
provider, 13 cents per kilowatt hour, which is already figured into
customer’s rates.

OK, that’s good, because it means biomass is well and truly
dead in Georgia.
But it also means Georgia Power isn’t very serious about solar,
if all it’s doing is fiddling with accounting for the small amount
of power biomass might have produced and not going for the real
numbers solar can produce.
OK, how many solar megawatts?

Continue reading →

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-11

After
briefly discussing or at least hearing items at

the previous morning's Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission voted on them at its Regular Session of
Tuesday 11 September 2012.

Here's

the agenda,
and the copy below has links to the corresponding videos or
previous blog posts.
Here's a

video playlist.




  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

  4. Minutes for Approval

    1. Work Session — August 13, 2012
    2. Regular Session — August 14, 2012
  5. Resolutions




    1. Adopt Resolution Appointing an Open Records Officer
    2. Resolution Regarding Review & Approval of Minutes of Executive Sessions

    3. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Glen Laurel Subdivision Phase II

    4. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Crestwood Subdivision Phase IV

  6. Appointment — Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful
  7. Public Hearings




    1. REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd., 0070 015;       3.4 ac., 3 lots, E-A to R-1,
      well/septic

    2. REZ-2012-14 Harris, 6926 Jones Dr., 0139 023,       6.8 ac., 1 lot, E-A to R-A, well/septic

    3. TXT-2012-01 — Primary Intent: Appendix A Land Disturbance & Clean Version of ULDC

    4. Public Hearing Renaming Sandy Creek Drive (CR #1118)

    5. Beer License — Lin's Hibachi — 1078 Lakes Blvd.
  8. For Consideration




    1. Letter of Understanding — Bond Refunding

    2. USGS Funding Agreement for HWY 122 Stream Gauge

    3. Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Operating Contracts

    4. Declaration of Surplus Vehicles



    5. Brown Bag Ordinance

  9. Bid – Rescue Pumper for Lowndes County Fire Rescue
  10. Reports-County Manager
  11. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

-jsq

Rezoning denied: REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd. @ LCC 2012-09-11



After no changes since

the previous morning's Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission

at its 11 September 2011 Regular Session
did the right thing and denied a rezoning
that would have put many houses in a wet area next to many people
who did not want it.
One speaker against the rezoning said some of the adjoining land
had been in his wife's family since her Indian ancestors.

Here's

a video playlist:


Rezoning denied: REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd.

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 September 2012.

-jsq