RON DAVIS -- Through My Eyes
The city of Huntington Beach is attempting to get AES (Always an
Eye-Sore) Corp. to beautify its power plant at Newland Street and Pacific
Coast Highway. Although I suspect that pigs ought to be offended by this
comparison, it strikes me that any attempt to beautify it will be like
putting lipstick on a swine.
We, and I’m talking about you and me, had our chance to do something
about the power plant, but we shorted out. Earlier this month, we were
offered an opportunity to generate (power plant pun) $1.2 million in
annual revenue from the plant by way of a 5% utility tax. But, the voters
of Huntington Beach rejected Measure Q.
AES succeeded in generating a negative electrical field about Measure
Q. It shocked many of the voters in Huntington Beach into believing this
tax would surface in their electrical bills and be passed on to the
residents of the city. That might have been true if the electricity AES
generated was sold exclusively to city residents, but it isn’t. It’s sold
to a power grid, which in turn sells it to other cities.
Let me simplify this by reverting to the pig analogy. Most people
don’t find pigs to be particularly attractive -- lipstick or not. A hog
farm in Huntington Beach would create problems. They make noise, they’re
unsightly, and they’re major polluters. But, pigs also have value because
they produce bacon, pork and ham.
If we raised pigs in Huntington Beach that were used to exclusively
feed the residents of Huntington Beach, then it might make sense to put
up with their unsightliness and pollution because of the direct benefits
to our community. But, when the pigs raised in our community are sold
elsewhere, just as AES sells its electricity, it doesn’t make sense to
put up with downsides when we’re not getting the benefit. I can’t speak
for you, but I certainly haven’t proudly touted Huntington Beach as the
home of an AES power plant.
In my view, we had our wires crossed when we rejected the imposition
of a utility tax on AES that would have either been absorbed by them or
passed on to people in other cities who receive the benefit of the
plant’s electricity without the detriment of having the plant in their
city.
We also shot ourselves in the foot by not passing Measure Q because we
made it cheaper to generate electricity in Huntington Beach. And what
happens when a product is cheaper? Demand increases. And when more
electricity is produced, more pollution and other effects are produced.
And that’s exactly what’s happening to us. AES now wants to activate
two boilers and potentially expand its plant. Officials there claim
there’s an energy shortage, and while they’re probably right, should
Huntington Beach shoulder the negative costs of supplying this energy for
other communities, without compensation from those in those communities?
I don’t think so.
Asking the people in other cities, who receive our juice and don’t get
stuck with the rind, to pay for the negative consequence to this city
seems imminently fair. I hope the City Council places an initiative
similar to Measure Q on the ballot in the future. And if we have the
energy to pass it, maybe we’ll have enough money to buy a little lipstick
and rouge. * RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in
Huntington Beach. He can be reached by e-mail at o7 RDD@socal.rr.com.f7
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