Minneapolis might get cleaner energy with a utility takeover?

Because we legislators and activists, the halls past legislative term the roaming said the State Capitol, was there that are becoming ever clearer that call the Xcel Energy and other utilities for our energy supplies in the future shots.

You decide which bills will be heard and ultimately passed into law. Not by chance, a master of clean, local energy was denied a seat on the public utilities Commission by the legislature.

An op-ed by me and Ken Bradley written and printed in the Gala.de published

Minnesota spends more than $20 billion a year on energy-especially polluting fossil fuels importieren-- and the public utilities lobby usually against reduce our dependence on. This complicates our economy and our environment damages.

Cities not must fortunately on the legislature for more efficient and cleaner energy dependent.

Consider Minneapolis. The people of the city spend $450 million per year on electricity and gas services. As in most communities, these services are supplied by utilities, the a "franchise".

This 20-year legal agreement is each utility a monopoly, electricity or gas, homes and businesses in exchange for an annual fee on the town (approx. $23 million per year taken right from the energy costs of Minneapolis customers) to deliver.

These franchise agreements is in the next few years. Minneapolis has to make a decision. His two big Utilities--Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy-sends to ask their fleets of lobbyists over the River from the State Capitol, the city of Lakes removed its energy options - and-$ 9 billion revenue for the next 20 years sign.

We know that residents and businesses want to Minneapolis, install more local renewable energy and reduce energy consumption. Utilities have come to shortly.

There was only a tiny amount of local energy development in Minneapolis. Xcel has typically measures such as a solar-energy-standard, among others against, that it would be easier and more cost-effective to install solar energy, generating local electricity and create local jobs.
Energy savings were also difficult to obtain; Xcel and CenterPoint have little incentive to promote them, if their bottom lines with electricity or gas sales grow.

States such as New Jersey and provincial neighbors to the North in Ontario have installed more than 500 megawatts of solar power. You have more solar power in a single month as our tools in their entire history installed have built.

Each megawatt solar can 200 houses with free, clean sunshine power and each megawatt installed in Minneapolis could mean more jobs and dollars in the local economy.

As residents of the city, we need to ensure that our next franchise agreement paves the way to a future of energy, reliable, efficient and local renewable energy contains. Our politicians need to understand that 20-year franchise to restrict energy technologies dramatically change.

Hardly anyone had a mobile phone 20 years ago, and most of us were excited, our favorite TV programs on VHS tape. It made more sense to sign 20-year franchise with large utilities, as it a few economic energy alternatives yet.

This time it is different. Recently, the McKinsey research group, found that the United States reduce energy consumption by almost 25 percent and money could save.

The cost of renewable energy is reduced dramatically (50 percent in five years for solar). Minneapolis for 20 years pay rising energy needs to clean not use, rising costs and minimal local energy.

At could buy time at least the city with a short-term contract of two to three years while it examined alternatives. It could be also franchise, the utilities in conservation, energy efficiency and local renewable energy require too much investment.
Even better Los Angeles, San is, could join Minneapolis, Antonio and other major cities and its own benefit in consideration. A city-owned utility could funnel the energy dollars in large investment in energy saving and the economic opportunities to capture, because local energy production is remarkably affordable.

Every seventh American are already of a municipal electric utilities, serving control over its energy future.

The city of the Lakes could sign franchise agreements with its two large utilities, their polluting power stations and its shareholders for a further 20 years. She would like to be available. But we believe that the world is changing and that we should keep our options open.

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Ken Bradley is Director of the area of Minnesota. John Farrell senior researcher energy policy for the Institute for local self-reliance is specialized. Both are members of the coalition of Minneapolis energy option.

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