‘Merchant’ Plan Bad for Environment

Your June 7 edition noted that five new “merchant” power plants are being planned for our state. And as expected, they are being built to offer the consumer reduced electrical rates, consistent with the restructuring of our electric power industry. We’ll now be able to shop for electricity like we shop for our telephone service. The similarity stops there!

The new power plants will use heat in the form of fossil energy to produce electricity. That means at least another 30 years (normal power plant life) of dumping more of the global-warming pollutants into our atmosphere. And instead of us being responsible citizens and stewards of our environment, we’ve now passed the torch to the next generation. That’s totally unacceptable.

In California, we are blessed with generation alternatives: renewable energy in the form of solar and wind. And others.

The restructured electric power program has taken the wind out of the renewable-energy R&D; sails at PG&E; and Edison to the extent that they are discouraged from spending their financial resources to better our environment. As noted in the June 7 article, they are unloading blocks of more expensive power plants to competitively survive.

Are the electricity consumers willing to swap lower rates for a better environment? Are they aware that they may be doing just that? Why don’t we find out--now! Ask the consumer.

ROBERT M. MUCICA

Camarillo