bluethread32 t1_je5kvby wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:00 PM

Reply to comment by MormonReformist in Eversource is the biggest scam in history by [deleted]

Weird that Chat GPT didn't put forth the only correct answer...

Municipal Power.

Catheater t1_je5mtbd wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:12 PM

Yup! Wallingford owns their electric company and offsets the cost with taxes. Stop privatizing energy and the cost goes down dramatically.

usernamedunbeentaken t1_je5p13d wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:26 PM

But taxes go up.

Big-Pond t1_je5s4yp wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:46 PM

And your bills go down enough to compensate

Catheater t1_je5v73q wrote on March 29, 2023 at 5:06 PM

Yes and we have some of the lower taxes for car and property in the state

usernamedunbeentaken t1_je5zyu4 wrote on March 29, 2023 at 5:35 PM

Yeah, that's my point. Build your own utility, your taxes go up to pay for that... but your utility bills go down. Basically a wash over the long term on a present value basis. Municipally owned power isn't a panacea.

Catheater t1_je5p7eq wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:28 PM

I mean you can look up Wallingford taxes compared to your town and see if it’s a significant increase. I would rather reallocate where taxes are distributed but that’s just me.

usernamedunbeentaken t1_je5snyc wrote on March 29, 2023 at 4:50 PM

How long has Wallingford owned their utility. If they bought it in 1930 then it wouldn't be reflected in tax rates today. The maintenance and expenses would be presumably covered by utility bills.

The problem is if you take another town and suggest they embark on their own 'municipal power' program, then they would need to either build their own utility. The cost of which they would have to fund via taxes or via surcharges on utility bills going forward. Not apparent that such a situation would be cheaper for residents over the long run.