Public power has a bright future in Racine
By Pete Karas
Green Party of Wisconsin

One hundred and twelve members of our community came out on a windy, snowy evening to participate in the kickoff event in January for the Bright Public Power Initiative campaign at Gateway Technical College.

Judging by their positive response to the presenters, their supportive comments during and afterwards, and their financial commitments, these members of our community feel that bringing a public electric utility to the Racine, Wisc., area is a real possibility and is an idea that is worth pursuing.

The concept of a community forming a publicly owned, publicly run nonprofit electric utility is not a novel idea. Over 2,000 communities in the U.S. provide their residents and businesses with safe, reliable, low-cost electricity. In Wisconsin alone, 82 communities, including Manitowoc, Elkhorn, and Oconomowoc, are served by public power.

The advantages of a community converting to public power are great. The rate paid by consumers is generally between 10 percent and 25 percent less than that paid in communities served by investor-owned utilities. Since a public power utility is owned and operated by the people served, there are no expensive dividends to shareholders, no multimillion dollar executive salaries and no incentives to maximize profits. The utility will be operated for the benefit of the community.

A publicly owned utility is locally controlled, so we, the people, will be empowered to make the decisions that affect our electrical service. For example, as a community we could support the development and generation of clean, renewable energy in our area--an idea that the Bright Public Power Initiative and the Green Party of Kenosha and Racine strongly support. Four Greens are on the Power Initiative's board of directors: myself, Allen Filloon, Dan Werner and Robert Nemanich.

State law allows the municipalities involved in a nonprofit utility to receive payments in lieu of the taxes that would have been due to the state if they were served by a for-profit utility. This money could fund community projects, retire municipal debt, or be used for much-needed property tax relief.

Take a moment to think about the state of the economy in the Racine area. We currently have the highest unemployment rate in the State of Wisconsin, with the City of Racine showing a rate over 10 percent. If we are to accelerate our rebuilding into a thriving center of commerce and industry, we must take control of our own destiny, spurring economic development and creating good living-wage jobs for our residents.

Choosing to become a public power community will be a big step towards accomplishing these goals. The lower cost of doing business in our area will attract new businesses, creating more jobs and leading to a better local economy and community for all of us. Existing businesses will see a direct positive impact on their bottom line, spurring more investment and more local jobs.

The first step in the formation of a public power utility is to do a feasibility study. The study will determine the cost savings, suggest the best way to organize the utility, help to define the most advantageous service area, scope out the electrical supply and generation options, and estimate start-up costs for the utility, which will be funded primarily by low-cost municipal bonds. The results of this study will be the basis for a referendum question to be put before the people of Racine, who will decide whether or not to form a public power utility in our community.

This study will be done under the direction of the Bright Public Power Initiative Coordinating Council. We have already begun raising funds from private donations towards a target of $100,000 to fund the cost of the study and the initial administrative costs. We want the people of Racine to have ample knowledge of the project, and to decide whether they want a public power utility before they are asked to pay for it. We are confident that the study will prove that public power has a bright future in the Racine area.

For more information, visit www.brightpublicpower.org. 

City of Racine Alderman Pete Karas serves as the volunteer executive director of the Bright Public Power Initiative.

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