We shouldn’t pay for it

Regarding the Dec. 13 Herald article, “Electric bills may shock residents”: Come on, give us a break! We have been told to conserve energy for years, so when we do, we are thanked by PUD by having our rates increased 33 percent Jan. 1. The rate would have been even higher if it had kicked in on April 1.

When the rate does kick in (because we, as customers of PUD, have no choice), I certainly hope the aid crews are fully staffed at the time the first bills come out. I am sure they will be very busy. Also, I hope people are watching their elderly neighbors and friends who won’t be able to afford the increase and therefore will not run the heaters to keep warm and stay alive.

If the people in California are using too much power, then charge them the increases not the people who paid to build the PUD. Was not the PUD built by the public in Washington state? The “P” in PUD is for “Public,” is it not? Why do we have to pay for the California’s use of power? It makes no sense. What about the elderly, the people on public assistance, the people who don’t have wood stoves or other heating sources? I believe this is just a ploy of the PUD to get all of the money they lost when the public tries to save our resources and conserve.

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