Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › RANT: Seattle City Light Rate Hike
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February 14, 2011 at 5:27 am #716849
mrhinehMemberI forgot must have last word too. -ng-
February 14, 2011 at 6:25 am #716850
dobroParticipantIn a document that I easily Googled, I found that as of 2006 Wa state electricity rates were the 5th lowest in the country.How low do rates have to be before some RW crybaby won’t be whining about it?
I agree that the current push to demonize gov’t and public employees illustrates once again how the RW noise machine can bank on people being so stupid that they will hate on their neighbor who has a decent job that they don’t before they will recognize the true source of their impoverishment- the corporate overlords. Fer Chrissake, wise up,people!!
February 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm #716851
KenParticipantI finally found the link to the LIHEAP cuts.
It seems the 2009 budget was increased but now as a conciliatory (and unnecessary) bone to Republicans the current budget rolls this back to 2008 levels. (Which means it will be similar to the 2005 and 2003 levels which with the increased cost of heating oil in some regions means many will be cold (and broke) in the blue states of the NE
February 14, 2011 at 3:31 pm #716852
redblackParticipantthis topic came up 3 months ago here in the forums:
https://westseattleblog.com/forum/topic/city-light-electric-rates#post-107345
someone name firedup pointed to a seattle times editorial piece about SCL, and then went on to bend the numbers into a rant about rate hikes.
in the second post in the thread, i posted a DOE link that compares the states’ respective electricity costs, and farther down the thread there’s specific info about how larger commercial ratepayers enjoy very competitive rates in seattle.
it appears the stats have changed since i posted that DOE link the first time, however; idaho now has the lowest residential rates in the country at ¢8.02/kWh; washington is next at ¢8.26/kWh.
note that the eastern seaboard pays about double what SCL charges for residential power.
and at ¢4.02/kWh, washington still has the cheapest industrial power in america.
February 15, 2011 at 8:35 am #716853
HMC RichParticipantSeattle City Light just saved me hundreds if not a thousand dollars. They deserve the money they get. We need them, just like Police, Fire and other services.
And remember, without SCL, it would be much more difficult to post rants and raves to each other.
Thank You Seattle City Light. I sincerely appreciate what you do for me and the community. Thank You again.
But they should be audited regularly just like all government agencies.
February 15, 2011 at 2:20 pm #716854
redblackParticipantthey are audited regularly, rich. the SAO just completed an audit in 2010:
http://www.sao.wa.gov/auditreports/auditreportfiles/ar1002122.pdf
February 15, 2011 at 6:55 pm #716855
queseraMemberPay rates for workers aside, 20% (especially suddenly), is a lot.
If you hear people complaining, before you label them “whiners” and “crybabies,” remember: poverty=stress. Those of you can easily absorb rate hikes have privilege. It’s nothing to feel bad about, but say that aloud at least once: “privilege.”
People who are living paycheck to paycheck, busting their tails for very small wages, get stressed when their bills go up. It’s not a matter of buying less gourmet coffee or skipping the movies. It’s cutting back on groceries or heat.
I know most folks in West Seattle are wealthy. Not all are. Sometimes it’s scary to see your bills jump that high and that sparks anger.
It’s odd that people are assuming that the OP just hates blue collar workers. Where did that assumption come from? S/he didn’t say that.
I’m not assuming the OP is poor (or rich), but seriously, people are hurting right now. Public utilities should be discussed. Perhaps without cattiness.
February 15, 2011 at 7:11 pm #716856
JustSarahParticipantquesera, I do agree with your post (with the exception of the “most folks in West Seattle are wealthy” comment, which simply is not true). For many people, a sudden increase in utility costs is not an easily-absorbed change. It can certainly be a hardship, and yes, many people are privileged to not need to worry about paying utility bills.
However, that wasn’t how the OP framed his complaints. Rather, he did seem to be railing against overpaid line/utility workers. Though the base complaint may be the same — utility prices increasing — there’s a huge difference between someone saying he’s upset about the increase because it poses a hardship on their family, and someone saying he’s upset the rates are increasing because it means line workers are getting paid holidays and pay increases.
February 15, 2011 at 7:26 pm #716857
redblackParticipantmost folks in west seattle are not wealthy – unless you’re comparing us to the rest of the planet, of course. in which case we’re all privileged to have access to clean water and toilet paper, never mind solid electricity.
no one accused douggusmc of hating blue collar workers, quesera. the implication is that blue collar workers who make 6-figure salaries is somehow a fleecing of ratepayers. in fact, there are a lot of other factors that influence the rate increase. and as i and others have pointed out, the linemen who work enough overtime to put them into 6-figure salaries perform dangerous and necessary work.
the other, subtler implication is that the IBEW local 77 contract with SCL is something that should be re-negotiated to save ratepayers money. however, at $41/hour top pay, those linemen’s wages are not far out of line with other union construction and infrastructure workers.
you may not see it, quesera, but this whole argument is part of a larger effort to destroy labor unions. tearing down other people’s wages is not the way to help ourselves out of a recession.
and believe me, i know people are hurting. but i also know that SCL has programs for low-income and elderly ratepayers.
for me, last year’s increase reflected a change of about $6/month. the way i see it, we have electricity at a bargain. folks in NYC pay four times what SCL customers pay (in cents per kWh):
1. Seattle 5.62
2. Indianapolis 6.58
3. Charlotte 7.04
4. San Antonio 7.56
5. Denver 7.93
6. Columbus 8.42
7. Austin 8.53
8. Memphis 8.60
9. Nashville 8.99
10. Milwaukee 9.89
US Average 9.89
11. Detroit 9.95
12. El Paso 10.40
13. Jacksonville 10.47
14. Phoenix 10.52
15. Chicago 10.91
16. Las Vegas 11.14
17. Philadelphia 11.17
18. Los Angeles 11.80
19. Baltimore 12.30
20. San Francisco 13.47
21. San Jose 13.47
22. Washington, DC 14.59
23. San Diego 16.62
24. Boston 17.58
25. New York 21.46
by the way, the OP stated a 20% increase in one year. the actual number is 13.5% in 2010 and 4.3% in 2011. that increase is lower than neighboring cities’ rate increases. so while this increase may be bad for SCL customers, it could be a lot worse.
February 15, 2011 at 9:04 pm #716858
DPMemberwe’re all privileged to have access to clean water and toilet paper, never mind solid electricity.
redblack, my friend . . . what am I gonna do with you?
In the first place, electricity is a gas, not a solid.
In the second place, not all of us even have access to toilet paper.
Some of us have goats.
February 16, 2011 at 6:52 am #716859
HMC RichParticipantGoats, Goats!!!! The sign of the devil.
You are evil DP.
Sorry, from Venom in my early Heavy Metal Daze.
February 16, 2011 at 3:10 pm #716860
redblackParticipantFebruary 16, 2011 at 5:19 pm #716861
JoBParticipant -
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