Dear Chairman Brown,
Someone must take a stand to stop the flood of dollars being ripped from the pockets of NYS taxpaying citizens to benefit special interests, highly profitable corporations and, increasingly, foreign owned businesses such as Iberdrola. Other than the “promise” to invest heavily in wind development (which, as you know, is of no benefit at all to NYS citizens, will come out of our own pockets in the long run and is redundant based on current proposed projects) how could it possibly be in our best interest to send more American dollars out of the country?
Iberdrola’s interest in the U.S. is clearly to build industrial wind turbines and profit from the overly generous subsidies, tax credits and renewable energy credits allowed for the wind industry. Otherwise why would they disagree so strongly with a restriction against owning wind generating facilities to complete this deal, when they would be free to build outside the Energy East area?
No amount of RPS legislation, media spin or sound bytes by politicians and business leaders will change the fact that wind turbines are a poor source of electricity and not deserving of massive public financial support, especially not at a time when more and more people are struggling just to pay for the necessities.
Added to that is the incredible potential for abuse in the REC and cap and trade markets, abuse that is already occurring as RECs are sold for electricity that hasn’t even been produced yet and likely never will be. Iberdrola affiliates in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are receiving RPS funds from NYSERDA, paid for by NYS. RECs are being sold in different states for the same unit of production. The public cannot afford to pay for these unethical practices, for which there is currently no regulatory oversight in NYS. Ownership of electricity distribution by Iberdrola will only open the door to further exploitation of these markets to the public’s detriment.
It doesn’t make any sense to talk about reducing dependence on foreign oil and then inviting foreign corporations to own and control our electricity supply. What authority will NYS have over Iberdrola if this deal goes through? What true benefit is there for ratepayers?
The early news reports of the PSC’s position opposing the Iberdrola deal gave hope to educated New Yorkers that at least one government agency would uphold the voice of reason and foresight for the public good in spite of pressure from politicians and special interests looking for a nonexistent magic solution to our energy issues. Your first instincts were correct. Please don’t back down now – we need you to represent the interests of the majority of New Yorkers, and oppose handing over this important part of our economy to Iberdrola.
Sincerely,
Joan Simmons
Canandaigua, NY
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