Whenever I recount a story or anecdote from my
childhood in the 1950s and �60s, my son and daughter without fail will
laughingly ask, �Is that how it
was back in the day?� Well, yes, �back in the day� we had a lot
of fun, actually (and believe it or not), before video games and portable
CD players and personal computers and hundreds of cable or satellite TV
channels. (Heck, I can remember being excited at receiving good reception
of three channels [!] on our new 19-inch color [!] television. All the
neighbors flocked to our house on that fall day in 1964 when the TV
arrived.)
One of our favorite outdoor games was tag, especially
nighttime tag. It was fun in part because it was exhilarating to be
outside past dark, and a bit scary as well to be pursuing friends blindly
through woods and across creeks, and up and down terrain that seemed,
well, different at night. Some
of us (such as yours truly) learned from painful experience to go more
slowly when visibility was not as good, and especially if you were in
unfamiliar territory. Slowing down may have delayed the thrill of victory,
but it also avoided the agony of ER visits.
Virginia�s
electric cooperatives are asking the Virginia General Assembly to slow
down as we approach the unfamiliar terrain of retail choice of electric
suppliers. Given the huge problems that California experienced with
retail choice a couple of years ago, the scandals at national energy giant
Enron, and the financial problems of other electric utilities in this
region and elsewhere, your electric cooperative leaders believe that
further study would help avoid problems, and protect consumers.
And thankfully, we�ve found that many, many
legislators agree. In fact, a bill has been introduced by Delegate Harry
Parrish (R-Manassas) that would make sure that the State Corporation
Commission has the authority it needs to investigate fully the impact on
consumers that would occur if control of a Virginia utility�s
transmission system were turned over to a regional transmission group that
controls the electric grid for several states. Delegate
Parrish�s bill would make sure that consumers are protected before any
such transfer of control could take place.
We�re supporting this bill because we have always
tried hard to protect our member-consumers, most of whom are homeowners or
small-business owners. After all, Virginia�s 13 electric cooperatives
are owned and controlled by these 350,000 member-consumers. Because
we�re member-owned, we�re responsive. And because we�re
not-for-profit businesses, we�re in business to provide our members with
reliable electric service at the lowest possible cost. Sometimes that
involves speaking out to legislators and regulators on issues that affect
you and our other members.
You may not think about your electric cooperative in
terms of involvement down in Richmond at the General Assembly. But before
state leaders in Richmond and Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C.,
too, Virginia�s electric
cooperatives are fighting the good fight in looking out for you and your
family. In next month�s issue, we�ll let you know how our efforts
in this year�s General Assembly session turn out. In the meantime,
please know that our bottom line doesn�t involve a dollar sign. It only
involves a thumbs-up sign, from serving you as efficiently and effectively
as possible.
