Hurricane Season Power Outages

We have recently experienced two hurricanes, Henri and Ida, here in Fairfield, Connecticut. We were generally spared the effects of Henri which veered off to the east despite incredible media hype, but Ida caused a great deal of flooding and basement water. Still, we did not experience the severe power outages that occurred in Louisiana, where Ida first hit.

Nevertheless, politicians and media types, who were perhaps hoping for the worst, reacted predictably and called for an overhaul of our electrical power system. An editor at the CT Post, my local newspaper, seemed to be disappointed  that the electric companies had weathered the storm. After Henri he wrote a column agreeing with  Connecticut Senator Murphy and other politicians that a so-called publicly owned electric utility was a better option for Connecticut than the privately owned but publicly regulated system now in place.

Since Henri had caused no power outages, he had to refer to last year’s severe power outages caused by hurricane Isaias, and others ten years ago in 2011/2. However, he neglected to mention that for the past ten years, our current system worked remarkably well.

During that period, we were able to have our homes and offices comfortably heated or cooled by electricity. Oil or gas burners will not work without electricity. When we get up  in the morning, we were able to turn on the lights, take a shower, use the refrigerator, make breakfast, charge up phones, and even power electric vehicles without a thought.

People may complain that our electricity rates are higher than other areas, but compared to what we pay for internet, phone, or cable TV, the cost of indispensable electricity is remarkably cheap. My average electric bill is about $150 per month. Nevertheless, many take it for granted and complain about the profits and salaries of people who provide us with invaluable electricity.

I suspect that it is profits and not electricity that really bugs educated  but poorly paid newspaper writers and columnists. In addition, social media is full of people who have practically no knowledge of how things like electricity actually work or are produced. Politicians, who produce nothing, and who cannot build but only destroy, pander to these social media fans.

They argue that if we could eliminate profits, and dividends, and private shareholders, money could be used for the public benefit and produce cheaper electricity with no power outages. Has this ever really worked? 

We have a private carting (garbage) company in Fairfield that competes with other companies for our business. The system has worked remarkably well for as long as we have lived in town. Next door Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, has a public garbage collection system. Our monthly bill is modest but Bridgeport’s taxes, which pay for refuse removal are among the highest in the state.

 

Moreover, why would a public utility be any more immune to a devastating hurricane than a private one? In private companies if you do an outstanding job, you get a bonus. If you mess up or underperform, you get demoted or fired. That cannot and does not happen in the public sector. Public companies and politicians are immune from lawsuits.

There is an old saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Our electrical system is working but columnists and politicians like Senator Murphy still want to fix it. Perhaps they think it should be run like the Department of Motor Vehicles. Do they remember when a few years ago, then Governor Malloy appointed an incompetent party hack to run the DMV?

###