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Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:31 AM Electric rates are astronomical, unconscionable After reading both the main editorial and the letter submitted by Jim Richardson on Tuesday, I felt compelled to write to echo support for both opinions. I have lived and practiced law here in Wilson for a little over 10 years, after having lived in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and my hometown of Kings Mountain. I have never in my life seen utility bills at such astronomical rates. I call and talk with friends and family across this state to compare utility bills from time to time, and I am shocked by how out-of-line and expensive our bills are in comparison to small towns or large cities. Frankly, it makes no sense. I have seen my personal as well as business utility bills jump significantly from month to month, and a 14 percent increase in electric rates, in this economy by ElectriCities is unconscionable. It wreaks of the type of runaway, bureaucratic sloppiness that gets government into trouble over and over again. When I ask my clients about their utility bills, nothing other than perhaps their legal case, ignites more anger, frustration and disgust. They are struggling like everyone else to pay these bills. I ate out today at a local restaurant. I asked the owner how much their utility bill was after I read the editorials. The owner informed me that it was over $3,700 on the latest bill he paid to the city of Wilson, just Monday. Small businesses like his will have a hard time keeping their doors open paying utility bills like these. I wish I had the answer. Someone, at some point in time, saddled the citizens of the city of Wilson over 20 years ago with this, now apparently $2.6 billion dollars in bond debt, as part of being a member of the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency. Although the $2.6 billion is not the city's alone, it is a crippling factor in our rising utility costs. I'd like to know how we plan to get out of it. Or is it like a credit card with high interest rates? Keep paying the minimum amount due, without reducing the principal but a little, and the debt remains for decades to come? In a not too far-fetched scenario, a person could have no place to pay a utility bill for, because of their high utility bill. Let's get it together, folks. The next election is just around the corner. Mark L. Bibbs Edinburgh Drive |
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