Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Walker's PSC poised to add new electricity taxes

GOP politicians and their bought-and-paid-for propaganda machine claim they live to cut taxes, rein in big government and empower everyday people - - but the 2-1 Republican ALEC-friendly majority Walker has installed on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission is likely to hit all electricity users, and especially the low-income, with big, permanent monthly rate charges.

All to discourage solar power use, as I noted a month ago:  
We Energies and other Wisconsin large utilities are asking the Wisconsin Public Service Commission for increases of 75%-to-100% in customers' fixed, mandated monthly charges. 
The utilities, which already enjoy state-authorized monopoly customer bases and territories, want the PSC to allow them to make up revenue they claim is lost as more homeowners and others generate their own power from solar and other renewable sources.
Yes - - call the utilities' demands a pitch for back door taxes.

The utilities want government approval to take more money from people who can't switch to another provider - - this isn't like dumping one phone carrier for another - - because the PSC awards these well-connected, right-leaning, coal-burning businesses fixed, monopoly territories from which they get to extract guaranteed profits from hemmed-in customers.

How many business enjoy state-awarded customers and profit-margins, too?

With rates set by political allies?

The rate increases new taxes sought by the big utilities would slam people who've invested in solar equipment and can even return whatever surplus power they generate to the utility and other customers at the very time solar is catching on worldwide because everyday people want cleaner air through greener power.

It is wonderful that people are fighting back with comments and petitions and even ads, but don't be surprised if the PSC holds its decision announcement until after the election November 4th.

That's to protect the same people and party that already have gerrymandered the Legislature, rigged ballot access and election control through voter ID and fixed judicial reviews in favor of corporate agendas at the State Supreme Court - - all to make sure big business gets what it wants.

At our expense - - literally.

Also do not be surprised if the PSC 'cuts' the rate hikes tax increases to look objective, even heroic, to offer opponents a false victory - - but in the fine print phases in the full tab over time to camouflage its impact and fully reward the utilities.

Final thought:

Imagine what would happen to your wallets if drinking water supplies in this state were privatized and water taxes for profit were put in the PSC's domain.

You can already see the outlines of the danger in the wholesale grabs of ground and surface waters already approved by various GOP-obeisant regulators by frac sand mines, big dairies and huge corporate farms.

Never give these ideological power brokers the right to treat access to affordable drinking and your very survival as another source of private profit and ideological support.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Of course new taxes...by the new "government"..of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation...

Anonymous said...

What I don't understand is why don't the utilities get out front on the issue of renewable energy and invest in wind, solar and biomass and sell it to their customers. We will eventually run out of fossil fuels, the very thing that keeps them in business presently. They have customers locked in by virtue of their single provider status so one would think they would be looking to their future without fossil fuels. This is what happens when you have a governor who is bought and paid for by the fossil fuel corporate giants and refuses to allow any scientific [research and development approach to problems or government. He becomes beholden to the corporate money and blind to the people and their needs!