Guest BloggerWilliam D. Coakley
Former Chair of the Lake Worth Electric Utility Task Force
The proposed "upgrade" to 26.4kv is an upgrade for eager staff bent on squandering other people's money. But in that selfish pursuit little consideration is focused on the "downgrade" forced on the public.
1. Regardless of how staff argues, the upgrade to a non standard voltage means the public is deprived of any equity being added to THEIR electric system. In fact, it further degrades the equity.
2. The people's money (bond specifications) stipulated a STANDARD upgrade to a voltage compatible with FPL who would be the most likely buyer if the residents of LW ever decided to sell their electric system and the company most likely to help out in the event of a disaster. This was a plan for the future that PROTECTED public interest and taxpayer investment.
3. It is a further downgrade since the data as of 2006 on file at the utility showed that the 26.4 kv parts of the system functioned a tenth as well as the beat up system that serves residents are served with now.
It is always some new engineer, utility director, or powerplant staff that tries to spend the people's money on this hair brained voltage that only two other small utilities use anywhere else in the country... and it is clearly designed to perpetuate a money pit that benefits pensioners and others while leaving the public with the bill. This direction of supposed "upgrading," will forever significantly diminish the equity in the system since the cost of converting it back to a standard voltage that everyone else uses... would mean offering peanuts for our system.
There is a very powerful mantra in the utility business .. ALWAYS BUILD STANDARD. But then again, some folks like to experiment with other people's money.
