Reason no. 2 to vote for Props. F and I                                                 
 	 		 		
Countdown to public power | September 12, 2001 | SFBG News
 		 		 		 		
Countdown to public power

ON NOV. 6 voters will be asked to weigh in on two public power 
ballot measures: Proposition I (the municipal utility district) 
and Proposition F (the city-run water and power agency). Here's 
the second of the top 10 reasons to vote yes on public power this 
fall.
 						
Local control As a subsidiary of Pacific Gas and Electric 
Corporation, California's Pacific Gas and Electric Company is 
beholden to shareholders and to Wall Street. So the public 
interest isn't on the agenda. The energy needs of San Francisco's 
Fillmore District, for instance, or the needs of any small pocket 
of the utility's customers, are not going to get much attention.
 						
But with a locally managed public utility, local interests are 
represented. There are regular public meetings, which have to 
conform to state and local open government laws. If Fillmore 
residents want a solar power project in their neighborhood, they 
can elect directors who favor it. Then they can monitor public 
meetings of the directors to ensure the project goes ahead.
 						
In Sacramento an environmentally conscious community developed 
the world's largest solar utility. In certain Midwestern public 
power districts there's a new focus on wind power, a good power 
resource to develop on flat heartland plains. That's the kind of 
energy San Francisco needs and can get with public power. (Rachel 
Brahinsky)
 						
For more than 2,000 examples of locally controlled utilities 
nationwide go to www.appa-net.org or www.cmua.org 
[http://www.cmua.org] . For in-depth information on the public 
power movement in California go to www.publicpowernow.org 
[http://www.publicpowernow.org] , www.sfbmud.org 
[http://www.sfbmud.org] , and our PG&E archives 
[http://www.sfbg.com/News/pgande/] .
 						
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