Ignorance, arrogance, or control? Or all three?
Thanks to an alert Facebook user, I found out that Eastern Shore Delegate Michael Smigiel blasted Delmarva Power for scheduling three public hearings without letting the public know the hearings were for a proposed rate increase. He noted his surprise that the TEA Partiers and other groups clamoring for accountability weren’t out in force due to the deception, and he also stated:
I meet with folks from the eastern shore on a daily basis who are unemployed, over taxed by the local, county, state and federal governments and hit with fees for various activities which used to be free or relatively cheap. People are having to make decisions on whether to pay the mortgage, buy groceries or pay their insurance bills.
We can not afford to continue to be nickle and dimed to death by government or monopolistic utility companies. The families I represent are dieing a death of a thousand cuts.
Obviously I applaud Delegate Smigiel on his diligence and hope Delmarva Power indeed rectifies its error. But a rate increase is nothing compared to the offer of intrusion from the nanny state I received in my last electric bill from the company.
Dangling a “FREE Energy Wise Rewards programmable thermostat” in front of customers, the utility promises a total bill credit of up to $160 a year for participation. But that comes with a cost, which Delmarva Power explains this way:
Your air conditioner compressor does not operate for the duration of the conservation period…Expect a (4 to 7 degree) rise in temperature during a conservation period.
(snip)
Energy Wise Rewards is only activated during times of critical electricity demand. Energy Wise Rewards conservation periods occur on selected summer days, June through October. Total conservation periods over the season typically amount to less than 1% of the year! (Emphasis in original.)
So imagine you come home from work on a hot summer day only to find your house is 85 degrees inside and you can’t turn on the air because the “conservation period” may not be over for several hours. This may seem to be paranoia at work, but it can happen if you fall for Delmarva Power’s siren song.
All this is part of the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act of 2008, which “requir(ed) specified municipal electric utilities and specified rural electric cooperatives to include energy efficiency and conservation measures as part of their service” as part of a 15% reduction in peak demand by 2015. Smigiel was one of 33 Delegates and 13 Senators - mostly Republican – who properly voted against a mandate to reduce the state’s economy. Unfortunately, the local Republican Delegate Page Elmore voted for the bill. On the other hand I expected the local Democrats to vote for this sort of garbage; needless to say they didn’t surprise me.
But letting the long arm of Delmarva Power onto your property to adjust the air conditioning makes me wonder if they’ll do the same for heating somewhere along the line. It’s along the lines of one version of the Obamacare legislation which allows the federal government to access your bank account or the sure-to-be-upcoming debate over speed cameras here in Wicomico County – more ways for Big Brother to peer into your personal affairs.
It’s a trend we need to stop.
Making a better point
While I’m often critical of U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Eric Wargotz this time he makes a great point.
Dr. Eric Wargotz, candidate for the U. S. Senate, criticized Senator Barbara Mikulski for derailing a proposal to require that the substance and cost of Democratic healthcare reform legislation be posted on the Internet prior to a vote.
The proposal, offered by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), would have required that the legislative language and a final, complete cost analysis of the Democratic bill be made publicly available on the Senate Finance Committee’s website at least 72 hours prior to any Committee vote.
Senator Mikulski used an arcane parliamentary tactic to block consideration of the proposal on the Senate floor. This can be viewed here.
“Millions of Americans have concerns about how this legislation will impact their access to quality healthcare,” stated Dr. Wargotz. “Greater transparency promotes better government. It gives citizens additional tools to educate themselves.”
As President and Countywide member of the Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Wargotz spearheaded measures to promote greater transparency in county government. “This is a responsibility of elected officials across all levels of government. I cannot understand why Senator Mikulski would want to take her constituents in the opposite direction.”
“Senator Mikulski has made healthcare reform one of her signature issues during her three decade political career,” Dr. Wargotz continued. “Now that the debate is here, she has been largely missing. I find it ironic that she would only break her silence to block a proposal to empower her constituents to make informed decisions. She is beholden to the shadowy Washington politics of the past at a time when people want change.”
This criticism works well for a press release at this stage in the campaign because this is a fairly black-and-white issue – you’re either in favor of transparency or you’re not. Wargotz is and Mikulski is not, and that puts Barb on the wrong side of the issue as far as the majority of Americans (including the President, supposedly) feel.
It also points out the “politics-as-usual” aspect of Congress, which is another item rubbing Americans the wrong way. So Wargotz makes plenty of political points with this salvo against Mikulski; the hard part will be getting her to explain her side. I’d also like to know how she was the one selected to object – perhaps they think she has the safest seat on the committee? (Granted, she could’ve come up with that herself but that makes it even more questionable as to why she would object.)
Like forgotten leftovers in the back of the refrigerator, Mikulski’s a Senator who’s hung around long past her expiration date. It’s time to restock the shelf next November.
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