Letters to the editor | March 2 edition

Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 2, 2023

PSE LEGISLATION

Open letter to Senator Joe Nguyen

When you first ran for State Senator, I voted for you, because you assured me that you had not taken money from PSE, our gas and electric utility. The Seattle Times has revealed you now are taking money from PSE. Prove you are not doing their bidding. Don’t let SB 5562/HB 1589 become law without major changes. PSE must not be guaranteed 60% ownership of new projects, while ratepayers pick up the bills. PSE must pursue “least reasonable cost,” regardless of who is the owner of the resource. The Utilities and Transportation Commission, the body overseeing PSE, must be convinced the proposed law is reasonable.

When laws were written allowing monopoly power companies to build and own resources, they made sense. We needed ways to get power extended to rural communities that otherwise would be neglected. That need no longer exists. It’s time for laws such as California’s Consumer Choice Aggregation, rather than a law increasing PSE’s monopoly.

Don’t forget why some of us voted for you. Your independence and openness to truly good solutions to the problems we face today are what we admired.

Virginia Lohr

Correction: The print edition of the March 2 Beachcomber contained a letter from Ed Palmer, “No to Tammy Morales,” that misidentified the candidate seeking to represent Vashon in the 8th district on the King County Council. The candidate seeking office is Teresa Mosqueda, not Tammy Morales, as stated by Palmer. The letter has been removed in its entirety for this online edition. We strive for accuracy and regret the lapse in fact-checking Palmer’s letter.