You have probably found a glossy flier in your mail urging you to “Pull the Plug” and vote no to a “government energy takeover.” That sounds like a coup by the bad guys, doesn’t it?

But “the government” is us: We the people, we the taxpayers. Shouldn’t we control our energy resources and manage them for our own benefit? Or should we hand them over to a foreign investment company known for buying up small ailing companies, plundering their assets, and then leaving the government (we, the taxpayers) to clean up the mess?

Why not form our own Public Utility District? Seattle City Light is a PUD, a government agency; its resources are efficiently managed and the rates kept low for the benefit of its users, not privatized to fund the salaries of overpaid CEOs or the vacation homes of investors.

Yes, there will be costs to set up a new PUD. But what would be the costs if Macquarie Investment, already in trouble and in need of a bailout, needs to recoup its investments out of our pockets?

A private energy company is regulated by the Utilities and Transportation Commission which must allow for a rate of return for investors, not low rates for consumers. A PUD is run by a board elected by you and me, the public. We control our energy sources; we control costs: if they raise rates we can vote them out. “Green” energy will not be just a slogan to get votes, but in our hands: we can choose to buy cheap Bonneville power, or invest in solar or wind generation.

Vote yes for an Island County PUD, or better yet, install solar panels and sell power back to the electric company. We did.

Mary Fiddler

Oak Harbor