My point is that the Board continues to give the ratepayers' money (our money) away without so much as a "by your leave"
Send your comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net or to Mr. Hawkins, mhawkins@tstar.net
* To read the comments or add your own, click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story.
Editor's Note: To get the skinny on what the board's thinking might be, contact board member and Wimberley resident Patrick Cox, patrickcox7@gmail.com Mr. Cox is running unopposed for a full term on the District 7 board seat. Cox told the RoundUp he is expecting a new rate proposal will be brought up and voted on at a June 15 special meeting of the PEC board. Asked if he would support a rate increase, Cox stated flatly, "No, I will not." Of course, Mr. Cox is only one vote on the board of directors. The old guard board members still comprise a majority. They will soon be replaced but not before the June 15 meeting. The question on the streets is: Will the old guard push through, as their final parting shot, a plan that unfairly hits the little guy?
Voting by mail and internet is now underway thru June 12 for three new full term board members, including Mr. Cox. Of particular interest is the District 6 seat which represents a big chunk of western Hays County. For a look at the candidates go to this PEC web site: http://www.pec.coop/CorpProfile/Election2009.aspx Vote electronically here, http://www.pec.coop/
Please take the time to get as informed as possible, and vote! If you would like to meet the candidates and cast your vote in person, plan on attending this year's annual meeting of the PEC in Johnson City on June 20, a Saturday. It promises to be an interesting and fun affair. The winners of the board election will be announced there.
Friends:If you think, as some folks must, that the PEC Board's handouts and giveaways (over a million dollars a year) don't affect rates, consider this, from (Wimberleyite) Merle Moden's most recent letter to the Board:
Guernsey allocated charitable contributions and donations to the rate classes using cost allocation factor 107 (AF 107) which is the cost allocator for total plant. . . . Since the ability of PEC to make charitable contributions and donations is a function of the revenue received, these expenses should be allocated on the basis of revenue using cost allocation factor 26 (AF 26).
Merle goes on to make his point here: "Guernsey (PEC rate study) failed to follow basic principles of cost causation by misallocating these expenses." This is just one point among the many he assembles in his critique of the rate study in order to demonstrate flaws that "are significant and require correction."
I hope that Merle's entire letter will be in the Public Board Package for the June 15th Board meeting, when the Board will probably act on the matter. I think he makes a compelling case for serious revisions in the study's recommendations and offers a number of very reasonable suggestions for cutting costs. If you're interested, you might ask him for a copy now.
My point is that the Board continues to give the ratepayers' money – our money – away without so much as a "by your leave." I trust this will change when we get a "new" Board.
Milton Hawkins
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(Edited for length & style)
Dear Joe: No, I probably do not understand it all. I am learning new things every day.
I do understand a lot about PEC. Some of the old crowd are out but the bulk of the iceberg stays the same . . . This band of merry men didn't happen in a day, it took about 60 years to fashion and perfect our PEC and it is not going to change over night. Do you know that the near-by co-op that used to be a part of Pec, this is Cen Tex Co-op, they have a fine party to celebrate their independence from PEC some 60 years ago and they still celebrate the day every year.
PEC is cocked and primed to whack the small user-owners with a hefty price increase. This is going to get the attention of a lot of folks. This increase will probably be announced at the special Board meeting on June 15.
If you plan to attend, be prompt, this is going to be (quick) and they will be going home by 10:15 AM. Remember, this will be the LAST chance for the old crowd to really shaft the new crowd.
Thanks for writing, Joseph....Paul Langston
5 comments:
PEC, LCRA and other "non-profit" utilities charge utility rates that allow the "non-profit" to dole out grants, creating good will for the utility. This redirection of customer funds is a mixed bag.
The difference between an LCRA and a PEC bestowing grants in the community is that PEC members have a say in this practice...LCRA customers do not.
No matter what the grant, someone or some project is selected over others. In one case, LCRA donated $100,000 to a developer project. There is no customer accountability for such an action.
Policies and practices without customer guidance deviates from a utility's mission.
Word is circulating that the PEC could actually give its member/ratepayers a rate DEcrease. I hope these candidates and the 3 new, now sitting "reform minded" board members remember where they came from as they visit the rate issue.
Below, two comments from unidentified visitors, and a third from PEC District 1 candidate Christie Clement, which was edited for length:
4U not 4Me said...
I never thought I would feel this way, but here goes: the PEC4U "Watchdog" group is not ..for me. I sense a growing cronyism developing amoung some of these reform members. If the 4U group really wanted to endorse a progrssive candidate that would always have the members' best interests at heart (in my opinion), I feel a local woman would be the superior choice. I have read her website and saw her run a strong campaign last year.
She has gone and observed and spoken at numerous board meetings over the years. She says she will never agree to anymore rate increases; she says she knows alternative energy inside and out; knows all the failings of the old regime, and is in my opinion the true reform candidate in the entire election. Why the 4U group has not embraced her must be because of some information I do not have.
After meeting her I feel she will never allow herself to be manipulated.
I feel we need discussion this issue.
Hypoocrisy Hater said...
It is misleading on the part or the Roundup to call the PEC4U group a "Watchdog" entity. PEC4U is simply a political front group for the local Democrats who want their candidates elected to the PEC board - even though many of the PEC4U endorsed candidates have not paid the "dues" necessary to qualify them to be on the PEC Board. It is pathetically ironic how the DEMS cry "cronyism" at the drop of a hat but then do the same thing when it comes to their candidates. More hypocrisy in the good 'ol US of A.
Christi Clement said...
I am responding to the letter from some “independent” candidates for the Pedernales Electrical Cooperative’s (PEC) board of directors that was recently sent to multiple newspapers. I want to address some of the misleading allegations directed to me--albeit not by specific name---and to set the record straight.
This year as last, PEC4U and other groups such as Clean Water Action invited all candidates to respond to their on-line questionnaires. Of the current 11 candidates, 7 candidates actively sought endorsements by responding to the questionnaires (Boone, Landaker, Rogers, Mayfield, Cox, Jenkins and Clement.) The four that chose not to respond had the right to remove themselves from consideration. In the end, each organization endorsed three candidates: Clement, Landaker and Cox.
Now, those un-endorsed or “independent” candidates are complaining. Now they want to muddy the waters and cast sinister doubts on the very organizations that four of them actively sought endorsements from, the very organizations that only last year, successfully broke down the PEC barriers to open elections. Further, they want you to believe that “endorsed” candidates by PEC4U or others must be untrustworthy zombies.
No group has ever claimed, as alleged to have “exclusive rights” to determine what is best for PEC. No where in the process was I asked to check in my brain, my business acumen, or my integrity or sign any allegiance document in blood. It is sad to see these self-described “independent” candidates casting aspersions now that other candidates have been endorsed.
Unfortunately, I don't know all the ins-and-outs of the PEC like many on this site do but I'm learning. What does the future of their alternative energy plan look like? We currently subscribe to that program and pay the extra rate with the hope that we will one day have lower rates due to the cleaner energy we are producing. Any one have some answers?
The heading of this blog is very misleading. PEC has NOT proposed a rate increase. In fact, PEC has proposed a rate DECREASE of appx. $10,000,000 as shown in the Guernsey COS and the handouts at the three member meetings where the rates were discussed. Paul Landston and Milton Hawkins - you should get your facts straight before you submit incorrect and inflammatory information to all the sites you continuously comment on. Patrick Cox - you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing your minions to sent out information that you know is incorrect. As a Board member, you have a higher standard to ensure that you position and the information about the Board's actions are accurate. Alvin
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