A list of puns related to "Ratepaying"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/443888/new-zealand-water-infrastructure-spend-could-reach-185b-by-2051-studies
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/445059/some-auckland-ratepayers-could-be-hit-with-bill-for-major-drury-development
Strange things are afoot at Upper Hutt City Council.
Basically the Council are performing a "land swap", gifting a publicly owned nature reserve "Silverstream Spur" to a private company, in exchange for steep inferior land that the company already owns. This will enable the private company to develop on the reserve, destroying it.
The Council is not being transparent, and is not disclosing to the ratepayers the costs of this "land swap", whether they have received payment from the developer to do this, or whether individual council members have an interest in the development.
Forest and Bird are opposing it, but the Council is trying to push this through very quickly without any consultation, and a total lack of transparency. It really doesn't seem to pass any kind of sniff test.
Is anyone familiar with this kind of "land swap" - is it common for Councils to do this with private developers?
Have you looked at your Delmarva bill recently? Have you wondered why you are paying $4-5 per month on your bill for something called a QFCP-Qualified Provider Charge?
I won't rehash the whole history of Bloom. Safe to say Governor Markell, Former DEDO Secretary (and Happy Harry's heir) Alan Levin, and boy wonder (29 years old when appointed) former DNREC chief Collin O'Mara lied to the Delaware people and to regulatory agencies and legislators about the Bloom deal.
We were promised clean energy, 900 jobs (and 600 additional supplier jobs), and affordable and stable prices. What did we get? Methane emissions comparable to a modern natural gas co-generator power plant, 300 jobs, hazardous waste, and ever-escalating price increases to subsidize a company which has lost 2.7 billion and counting.
What are we paying per kWh for this 'clean' energy? About .16 per kWh, compare to solar and wind which are currently about .04 per kWh without any subsidies. In 2019 Delmarva-De customers handed Bloom $34 million, Delmarva sold that electricity to the grid at the competitive price of $9 million. Collin repeatedly claimed a Delmarva customer would only be paying $1 per month and emphasized the 1500 jobs, and argued ghg emissions 'reductions' were worth $.10 per kWh and the 'many consumer protections' the state had won. This isn't even to mention the $1 per year lease and DEDO incentives. Also a natural gas fired fuel cell 'QFCP-Qualified Provider' somehow received a carve out to be included for renewable energy credits.
How did this happen? Sweetheart deals, some very influential people pulling strings in Dover and at UD, and the rest of government and Delmarva themselves (who don't benefit from this btw, just a pass-through charge) just going along with them. For instance, Rep Kowalko, who I admire btw, and voted for the deal has admitted he didn't read the bill when voting for it and now sees it as a tremendous tragedy.
Why hasn't the state sued Bloom for it's false promises and statements? Well for one thing Matt Denn, former DE AG, was Lt. Governor when the deal was done.
Why doesn't the state back out of the deal? DNREC continues to refuse and Gov. Markell/Levin/O'Mara put a clause in the contract saying if the state backed out, they would have to pay the entirety of the remaining tariff charges anyway, they put all of us in a straitjacket.
What can we do? End the Delaware Way and the collusion and favor trading between business and government in thi
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