Despite our lengthy newsletter, there's good stuff that doesn't get transmitted. In the face of electric utility deregulation, some people have begun meeting and researching the idea of forming consumer-owned energy coops in the Northeast. One such meeting, exploring possibilities, was held in Western Massachusetts a few months back. Now there's one planned for Maine. Energy coops can be a powerful influence in regional pricing of energy purchased from outside sources.
Coops can offer fair pricing and highest quality service.
There is no charge but the organizers would like you to pre-register. Anyone wanting to represent CSE at the meeting, please call Jim Lippke, 326-808. If an energy coop or nfp cleanco can't swing such a deal, certainly municipalities can. Or the State itself. It argues that Vermont's public trust doctrine and the state's right and desire to control its water resources for the good of the people in the watershed, and the state as a whole, should give preference to local comprehensive plans.