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Show 'Privatization' would hurt, Bountiful power agency says w revenues year after year. Selling a . money-maker is poor economics. The Federal Power Facilities not": only pay their way, but make . money for the government. All costs of constructing, operating, and maintaining these systems are recovered from the sale of power, and the full investment is returned, j ' with interest, over a specified re- payment period. Through 1985, the ' five power marketing administra- I tions (PMA's) responsible for this 1 federal power were on schedule in repaying the government. Last year alone, they paid over $1 bil- ' lion in interest and principal to the U.S. Treasury. The system is effective in collecting costs and equitable to ratepayers and taxpayers; tax-payers; it isn't broken and doesn't . need fixing. power supply of Bountiful. If that source is sold, our cost of power would skyrocket. The administration's plan is clearly called "Privatization" of Federal Power Systems. The proposal prop-osal would eliminate a dependable source of revenue to the U.S. Treasury, threaten the power supply of 1,100 consumer-owned utilities, and in the long run, result in significantly higher rates for businesses, homes, farms, and industries in-dustries in 34 states. Sale of these assets will not help reduce the federal fed-eral deficit. It would preempt private pri-vate savings just as much as a federal fed-eral sale of new debt of the same value. In exchange for a one-shot cash payment, taxpayers would give up a program of growing value which produces significant annual It is no secret that the Federal Government has allowed our nation na-tion to become mired in a huge debt. Unlike state and local governments gov-ernments which must operate with a balanced budget of revenues and expenses, the federal government spends more than it makes. Good long-term solutions need to be found, including spending cut-backs. However, short-term, quick-fix plans that don't address the real underlying problems and causes of this huge deficit are not in the nation's best interest. ' It may surprise you to know that the Reagan Administration has decided de-cided to have a "yard sale" to help reduce it. Some of this country's national assets are slated for sale, including the Federal Hydroelectric Hydroelec-tric Projects that supply power to the city of Bountiful. The administration adminis-tration believes that selling them would bring in some quick cash to reduce the budget deficit. Bountiful has purchased power from these projects since their completion in the 1960's. Back then, the price we agreed to pay for that power was not the most economical econo-mical compared to other available resources. But like a home mortgage mort-gage that's been running for 20 years, the price we're paying today for that power is very attractive. Power from those hydroelectric projects is absolutely vital to the |
