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Show Currently (3 Speaking! By Moon Lake Electric Asso. Inc. Moon Lake Electric's Annual Meeting is over, another year has passed, and despite everyone's effort to conserve, the dollar amount of your electric bills has continued to rise. Some consumers have reduced their use of electric energy enough to realize a dollar savings. Others have reduced their usage but due to rate increases, the dollar amount is more. And others continue to increase their usage. Many consumers have voiced their com-N plaints about the increases in rates, to which we sympathize, because we do not like rate increases either. The utility industry continues to urge conservation of energy jvith a two-fold purpose. First the reduction in power and energy usage will assist in allowing existing distribution, transmission, and generation facilities to serve some of the added load growth, thus extending the time -element for constructing new more expensive facilities. Environmental restraints have doubled and tripled the time frame for construction new power plants and in most cases the dollar cost as well, for which the end-of-the-line consumer pays. The second reason for conservation, of course, is an effort to hold down your out-of-pocket expenses. It is difficult to realize a saving when you conserve, then a rate incrase comes along, and your out-of-pocket expense is still more. But think what your expense would be if you did not conserve. As the president of the Association mentioned in his report at the Annual Meeting, the Association recognized the need for some environmental controls, but only those that are cost effective. Ridiculous time delays, studies and insignificant equipment only add dollars to your electric bill and accomplish nothing. You must speak out, and speak out strongly, to your state and national elected officials in order to put a stop to all the waste. If restraints are not removed to allow construction of much needed additional power plants, it will become necessary in a very few years have brown-outs, black-outs, and rationing of electricity, regardless of the cost to the consumer. Too many people are saying, "Let the big corporations pay for it." Let's be honest with ourselves. Big corporations do not pay for anything. We the consumers con-sumers pay all the, bills and they just handle our money. Nothing is free. The consumer pays for what the vocal people convince our elected officials to enact into law. If you want to help stop wasteful spending, sit down at your kitchen table and write a letter to your state and federal elected officials and tell them so. Moon Lake Electric and other rural electric cooperatives throughtout the nation continue to present their views to state and federal legislators for fewer and only cost effective regulations regarding the nation's energy policies. We wish we could write an article saying that energy prices will go down in the future. Unfortunately, distribution systems like Moon Lake Electric have very few expenses which can be directly controlled. As the cost of materials, purchased power, and borrowed funds continues to rise, we must pass these increases on to you, the consumer. |