Cards Stacked Against Solar

Very bad news. The Director of the Tariff and Rate Analysis for the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) filed his office's report with the PUCT yesterday. Here is the report's summary:

"EPE's requested establishment of a Partial Requirements rate class with a three-part rate design that includes a demand charge is a reasonable move towards more just and reasonable rates, is not unreasonably discriminatory or prejudicial towards distributed generation owners, and should be approved. The recommendations of parties opposed to this proposal should be rejected."

Jim Schwarzbach posted on the Facebook page Citizens Against El Paso Electric's Attack on Solar: "Goes to show how badly the deck is stacked against solar."

Indeed it is because Texas ought to change its name to "BigOilandia". (Check out how the University of Texas profits from their land holdings and the air pollution and spills for which that powerful institution is responsible for.) The petroleum industry, which brings you all the free methane that you will ever want along with destruction of ecosystems, earthquakes and water pollution with fracking, does not want any energy competitors. Ditto for power utilities. The result is a concerted effort all across the country to destroy the solar industry. 

You know who owns the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality not to mention the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and most of the Legislature. If you don't know, just start looking at campaign contributions.

If you want to read El Paso Electric's playbook on solar just read the position paper on net metering by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, "the primary political advocacy group" (Wikipedia) of the Koch Boys. David is currently chairman.

Living Green in the Southwest: White Roofs Really Do Work

White roof with solar panels - EPEC's Schockley's and Kipp's nightmare.

Painting your roof white really does work and here are three advantages according to Steve Hargreaves, s CNNMoney.com staff writer:

• "It keeps buildings cooler, reducing the amount of energy required for air conditioning.
• It reduces the so-call "heat island" effect, the heating up of entire urban areas which then causes other buildings in the vicinity to heat up, whether they are in direct contact with the sun or not.
• A white roof or road will actually reflect the sun's rays back into space, keeping the atmosphere cooler."

Hargreaves is writing about a proposal by Energy Secretary, Steven Chu. Read White roofs to fight global warming. 

I first posted about this subject HERE. More and more I hear success stories. Just don't tell El Paso Electric Company. They may want to put white roof owners in a separate and much higher rate category. After all, with a white roof you won't be "contributing" nearly as much as your neighbors to EPEC's dinosaurian power plants.

Please support the work of Elpasonaturally.

Say NO to unfair solar fees

There is a new "take action" page published by Public Citizen. It is a means of making the current change.org petition more focused specifically on El Paso Electric Company's unfair rate increases for solar panel users. 

What is especially great about the Public Citizen's form is that your message will go directly to the Mayor and each of the City Council representatives. When I created the change.org petition for Eco El Paso I mistakenly had the emails directed to the Municipal Clerk's office. Kaiba White of Public Citizen called that office and discovered that they do not forward messages to the Mayor or Council. I was wrong. Since her discovery, I have changed the recipient of the change.org petition to the Mayor. However, on change.org there can only be one email recipient. 

I apologize for having your petition going to an office that cannot deliver email to Mayor or Council. However, I have made an open records request for all those emails so that your voice can still be heard by members of City Council. I will see to that.

The change.org petition is a chance to say NO to all the proposed rate hikes. Public Citizen's "take action" item targets specifically the unfair rate hikes proposed for just solar panel users.

If you have signed the change.org petition, please also fill out the "take action" form. You can find a link to it at www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.org at the very top of the right hand blue column. If you haven't signed the petition or done the action form, please take a moment to complete both. The change.org petition is right below the "take action" button. 

Please share this blog post with everyone you know here in El Paso. Say NO to the onerous rate hikes and say NO to the unfair solar fees.

Say NO to Unfair Solar Fees

Say NO to El Paso Electric


Please support elpasonaturally©. Go HERE to contribute and help turn El Paso "green".

Say NO to El Paso Electric

I wrote the following text for a change.org petition yesterday afternoon. Eco El Paso (along with elpasonaturally) is sponsoring the petition.

El Paso Electric Company's proposed rate hikes are not just a burden on all rate payers such as yourself but punish those who use solar panels and discourage the use of clean, renewable solar energy. The utility argues that added infrastructure costs are not shared equitably because solar users are not buying all of their electricity from them. Yet, if more people used clean, alternative photovoltaic solar power, there would be no need for added infrastructure - power lines and power stations. The simple fact is that El Paso Electric Company wants you to buy all of your electrical energy from them and they want you to buy more of it. And, btw, traditional electrical production requires massive amounts of water - a very scarce resource for all of us. Photovoltaic solar power uses just enough water to clean off the panels maybe twice per year.Support solar energy. Support conservation. Tell the Mayor and City Council of El Paso to say NO to EPEC's request for higher rates on all of us.

When I created the change.org petition yesterday, I told just a few people. I had not posted it to social media yet. I hadn't blogged about it. Almost instantly it got 83 supporters. Let's see what happens now that the news starts getting out.

Go HERE to say HELL NO to El Paso Electric's rate hike proposal. Spread the word.