Posted on 08/14/2019 5:50:33 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
Twenty-two aldermen today called on the city to quickly commission a study on the feasibility of a municipal takeover of Commonwealth Edison’s infrastructure in Chicago.
The proposed order, spearheaded by democratic socialists on the City Council, comes as the city’s franchise agreement with ComEd is due to be renewed. That agreement, which permits ComEd to operate in the city, dates back to 1947 and has been negotiated only twice. The last time it was renewed was in 1992.
“Chicago has an opportunity to define its energy future,” 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement. “Through municipalization, Chicago could accelerate decarbonization and implement a progressive rate structure that ensures better rates for working-class Chicagoans.”
Added 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata in the statement, “The council and the public should understand the socioeconomic, financial and environmental impacts of each possible alternative to the existing franchise agreement before embarking on any renegotiation of the existing agreement with ComEd.”
Presumably, a “progressive rate structure” would mean that middle-class and wealthy Chicagoans would pay more for electricity than working-class households.
The proposed order would have the Department of Fleet & Facilities Management, which oversees the franchise agreement, to hire a firm to produce the study no later than Dec. 1.
With the agreement expiring at the end of 2020, negotiations with ComEd now are getting under way in earnest.
“The city will always explore all available options for ensuring the highest quality electricity delivery at the greatest value for our residents and businesses," a spokesman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an email. "With negotiations between the city and ComEd currently under way, we are evaluating all options for continuing to provide efficient and reliable service for all of Chicago. We have received an ordinance introduced today and are reviewing it.”
Electric utilities in big cities are coming under increased scrutiny in recent weeks. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recently called for studying a city takeover of Consolidated Edison’s operation there following outages that paralyzed portions of the subway during rush hour and that kept tens of thousands of homes without power during a recent heat wave.
In a statement, ComEd said it's served Chicago well. "ComEd customers are enjoying record reliability in the city of Chicago, where ComEd’s smart grid and other investments have reduced the frequency of outages by nearly 60 percent since 2012 and customer satisfaction is at an all-time high," the utility said. Negotiating the franchise agreement "is an opportunity to build on that progress, which has helped establish the region as a leader in energy innovation while keeping energy affordable for families and businesses. We look forward to working with the city of Chicago on an agreement that ensures the continued safe and reliable delivery of energy that is affordable and increasingly clean and resilient."
Power outage.
That will clean it out.
Oh yeah, a utility run by politicians. That’d sure work better.
It will be run like Venezuela’s power grid.
It never ends, and with Chicago and Illinois, it won’t.
All sane people need to flee.
Raise my rates high enough to provide free electricity to the poor, and I’m calling the solar cell scammers and putting in a generator and giving the commies a middle finger salute.
Jun 5, 2019 ... Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was once the lone socialist on Chicago’s city council — now he’s joined by five members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Well, except for the muzzle flashes as 400 shootings per month becomes the lower limit for the Windy Well Ventilated City.
Full Disclosure: I am no fan of Con Ed, but they are far more competent at running a major electrical utility than the Progtard Dildocrat party is at running any American city.
Why do they want ConEd? For the money coming in, of course. They can convert to a renewable grid faster, but really, the money will be routed to wherever their current needs of the city will be, like pensions. It will absolutely not be used for maintenance of current ConEd assets, that is invisible to the citizen, so the socialists don’t care. For about six months to a year, everything will be fine. They will shut down coal plants, replace them with solar, and everything will still work. And then, a winter storm will come, or a summer heatwave, or even just a windstorm that knocks tree branches into power lines. (Remember, maintenance is invisible, it can be postponed forever). And then the blackouts will begin, and never really go away.
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