• Introduction
• What Might Have Been
• The Billion Dollar Opportunity

The Billion Dollar Opportunity:

As noted earlier, if 10 percent of California residents and small businesses (the remote rural areas only for this analysis) were served by electric co-ops, there would be immediate and long-term cost savings to both urban and rural ratepayers, including large energy users located in either urban or rural communities. That's not to suggest that investor-owned utilities aren't doing a good job of operating their systems and keeping costs as low as possible. The only comparison we attempt to make is the difference in cost between operating as a non-profit, member-owned cooperative and as a for-profit, private, investor-owned company. As you can see from the above list of potential savings, there are significant differences in operating costs in a dozen or more areas. Plus there is local control, another amazing tool that can go a long way towards holding down costs. All things considered, it seems reasonable to argue that California ratepayers could realize economic benefits of $1-billion dollars per year, if not more, if California enjoyed the same blend of cooperative ownership that currently exists in other states. Over time that savings would go a long way towards erasing the billions of dollars of debt California ratepayers and taxpayers face due to the failed deregulation effort.

How Could This Be Accomplished?

To accomplish any meaningful level of property transfer from the investor-owned utilities to new or existing cooperatives, it would take an unprecedented level of cooperation between all the parties, plus some unique leadership by elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. Everything from negotiating sale prices for utility assets to applying for loans takes time and depends on positive support from all the stakeholders, including political leaders in the local communities involved, public utility commissioners in San Francisco, and our elected officials in Washington, D.C. It's a big job, but not an impossible one. As long as every stakeholder understands from day one that the end result has to be a winning outcome for everyone involved, it can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. The Mission Statement for Golden State Power Cooperative reads: "To use the cooperative business model to help California communities own and operate their own non-profit, member-owned, member-controlled energy co-ops to assure honest, efficient, affordable and reliable service." If this mission is accomplished then all Californians will be winners.