South Daytona, Fl is having difficulty with their only power company, Florida Power & Light.
According to Daytona Beach News-Journal online that due to the problems they are experiencing the city has hired a consultant to see what options are available to them, including solar and other alternative power.
The news article from Monda, December 10, 2007 states that the city is having difficulty renewing terms with the company among them that the city has the option to buy the utility, and it’s franchise fee of 6% of sales, about $700,000 annually. Previous problems with customer going without power for days due to procedures have already made council members angry at the high handed dealings with the utility.
Believing that the company is playing unfair by contracting all local experts on pr and attorneys on retainer so that a conflict of interest can be made if the city cannot work fast enou
This story just highlights the power utilities have not only over us as individuals but the cities, communities, and states we live in. The customers of these power providers are truly at their mercy and we even have to pay to be that. We are not against mainstream power as much as believe it’s time of need is passed. When producing energy entailed large, dirty machines then yes it should be done for the masses in an offsite facility, but that is no longer the case. As with any technology it has grown to be friendly and clean. We now have the potential for each household to produce the power that they need, with some to spare if need be.
If we continue to rely on someone else to make our energy then we must also accept that we might need to add an extra place at our tables, in our homes, and even in our beds for them. If a city can see that going self-sufficient in energy is a viable option then we as individuals should also be seeing it as one.