Monday, June 1, 2009

Utility Companies Commitment to Energy Efficiency in Washington State

In the May 2009 issue of Puget Sound Business Journal, the CEO of Puget Sound Energy, prides its company for having more than 130 years of trusted, safe and clean energy supply to Puget Sound residents. According to him: As good steward of energy supply, Puget Sound Energy looks for better ways to promote energy efficiency, develop renewable energy resources, protect the environment and support Puget Sound communities. Can Puget Sound Energy open its books to energy researchers, environmentalists and lawmakers to ascertain its claim? Can they honestly justify their claim to energy efficiency? As a buff of Non-Profit organizations helping support the greenhouse gas reduction initiative, it is nice to know that for profit utilitity companies are coming around to appreciate the need to reduce our carbon footprint, or have at least paid some lip-service to this course in the past, and will probably do better in the coming years. Can the State Government depend on the contribution of all organizations, profit and non-profit, to pitch in so that the dream of completely clean and safe energy can be a reality? If Puget Sound Energy prides itself as the second largest utility generator of windpower in the nation, what is number one doing that number two is not doing? Would number two dig dip and ask itself the question: do I really want to be second best? It is fine and dandy to know that Puget Sound Energy is preserving salmon lives at the Baker River Hudoelectric Generating Plant, would all utilities supplying energy in Washington State make effort to ensure that they too are environmentally responsible with their neighbors in the Puget Sound Region?

Enough questions for Puget Sound Energy today! In the spirit of challenging every citizen, corporate and non-corporate, to move ahead to a green economy, I will shift my concern to the lone coal generating plant in Washington. Can it claim to keep electricity generation clean as the Puget Sound Energy claims? Does it want to continue to disregard our community urgent needs for clean and safe energy? Is the clean energy strategy of the last 130 years adopted by Puget Sound Energy, not worthy of emulation by the coal generating plant, for the sake of cleaner air, energy and better environment. I can hear my neighbors saying I am very forcy when it comes to the green economy. They probably are saying no matter how objective I try to be, my knowledge about clean energy generation by utility companies are subjective; and, to a large extent, no observation about an issue as huge as generating clean energy can be made, without some personal dispositions to some issues rather than others. For these reasons, I am going to quit tonight and hope that the lone coal generating plant in Washington State is actually closing on, on the new game in town.

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