LETTERS
FROM THE EDITOR A bird’s-eye view of co-op service
BY MONA NEELEY
EDITOR
O
ne of the advantages of working for Colorado’s electric MONA NEELEY cooperatives for the last 24 years is that I have traveled all over our state. One of this month’s stories takes readers to northeastern Colorado, which, like most places in the state, is filled with interesting people (see page 16) and amazing landscapes. A year ago, I had an opportunity to really see this part of the state from a new perspective — from the air. With Highline Electric Association board member Jim Lueck and Highline employee and pilot Mark Harshbarger, we flew over the rolling hills and craggy bluffs of this corner of the state. This new view gave me an appreciation, not only for the eastern plains sometimes overlooked beauty, but also for what it takes for electric co-op crews to bring electricity to the people at the end of long country roads on our vast landscape. It gave me a renewed respect for what electric co-ops do. Mona Neeley is the statewide editor of Colorado Country Life, which is published in coordination with your local electric cooperative. Its goal is to provide information from your local electric co-op to you, its consumer-members.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
EVs Need to Pay Fair Share
I read with interest the article on electric vehicles (December ’18). While I agree that they save the owner money, and help decrease pollution, EV owners pay no gas tax and therefore do not contribute to the cost of maintaining the roads on which they drive. Until the state or federal government addresses this issue, either by taxing the EV owners based on miles driven or with some other form of tax that would pay for their share of state and federal road maintenance, all of us who own and drive internal combustion-powered cars are subsidizing them. Joe Horan, Rustic Poudre Valley REA consumer-member
Electricity Costs Compared
Thanks for sharing the report on the full costs of electricity from the Energy Institute of the University of Texas (News Clips, February ’19). It was interesting to see that solar is the cheapest source of new power in much of the southwestern United States and that wind is the cheapest source in much of the central United States. I have a residential solar system, which saves me a great deal of money. I am glad to learn that this study shows it is a smart way to generate electricity, cost wise. I hope electric co-ops look at the full costs of electricity when they evaluate different sources. Lee Cassin, DeBeque Grand Valley Power consumer-member
Rural Realities
Viewpoint (February ’19) by Kent Singer was an eye-opener for me. The reference to The New York Times piece with solutions for “saving” the rural economy shocked me. The disconnect of academia and policymakers about rural life is frightening and serious. We cannot let others tell us what is best for us. We need to educate and create a dialogue concerning this issue so that we can come up with solutions to this problem. Marlyn Hasart, Stratton K.C. Electric consumer-member
SEND US YOUR LETTERS Editor Mona Neeley at 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or at mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org. Letters may be edited for length. COLOR ADO COUNTRY LIFE APRIL 2019
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