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Wood County Voter February 2017

doc iconFebruary 2017 Voter.docx

Pay 2 Play documentary viewing February 25

LWV of Wood County will be showing PAY 2 PLAY: Democracy’s High Stakes, a documentary about the corrupting influence of money in politics on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 2 p.m. in the Summers Auditorium of the Parkersburg/Wood County Library, 3100 Emerson Avenue, Parkersburg. The film explores the status quo and offers a set of simple solutions we can all work on together to take back our democracy. The event is free and open to the public.

pdf iconPay 2 Play event .pdf

League Opposes Pleasants Power Station Boondoggle

The State Board invites you to support this opposition.  Please sign the petition at http://energyfreedomwv.org/take-action-1-1/,  and/or send your own letter to the PSC.

Statement Opposing Pleasants Power Station Boondoggle

In 2013, the League of Women Voters of West Virginia opposed Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s proposed purchase of 80% of the Harrison power plant.  At that time we sent a clear message to the West Virginia Public Service Commission:

Customers should not be forced to pay for a  purchase that will raise the costs of their electricity. Furthermore the purchase of the Harrison power plant would lock in costs for many generations, so that better alternatives would be precluded. 

Rather than paying for the high costs of the Harrison power plant, Mon Power and Potomac Edison could bid for cheaper power from other sources and install more energy efficiency into its production. Also they could lessen demand by aiding customers in energy efficiency means as many power companies have done. All would result in smaller energy costs to ratepayers.

Once again, we are confronted with a similar  situation, this time involving the purchase of the Pleasants Power Station that is currently operating in a deregulated electricity market where it is struggling to compete against less expensive power sources.  The League firmly opposes this new attempt by FirstEnergy Corp. to offload this plant to our regulated market because of debt the company has acquired due to its own lack of foresight in the transitioning energy markets.

The state of West Virginia is a net exporter of electricity, providing almost 5% of the nation’s total energy, largely because of its coal production.  However, many states receiving our electricity from the grid are phasing out coal generated electricity.   It is time that West Virginia does the same. Even as this statement is being written, a massive iceberg the size of Delaware is very close to breaking free from Antarctica, due to a huge, widening crack in the 10,000 year-old Larsen ice shelf.

The financial costs for West Virginians from climate change will vastly exceed any profits for FirstEnergy Corp. shareholders.  Switching the power station’s financial risks from stockholders to ratepayers will not benefit the people of West Virginia, and in the final analysis they will be the net losers.

Therefore, we ask the Public Service Commission not to approve passing the costs from FirstEnergy’s own boondoggle to the ratepayers of West Virginia

League of Women Voters of West Virginia 

CONTACT:
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Board Member

Nancy Novak, President

West Virginia League Update, January, 2017

League members: Here is an update to let you know what the League is doing in West Virginia.  If you do not wish to receive these occasional messages, please reply and you will be taken off the circulation list.  If you are changing your street address or your email, please send the new ones to the state treasurer, tbyler@suddenlink.net so that you can keep informed.

 LEAGUE ACTION

  • The League opposed the proposed purchase of the Pleasants power plant that is currently operating in a deregulated electricity market where it is struggling to compete against less expensive power sources.  The League firmly opposes this new attempt by First Energy to offload this plant to our regulated market because of debt the company has acquired due to their own lack of foresight in the transitioning energy markets. 
  • The state league added our name to WV Rivers Coalition on a stormwater permit on Rover Pipeline.  The league believes that all pipelines should have a complete and thorough permit applications in order to prevent as much land and water pollution as possible.
  • The state board of directors has joined in a coalition with WV SUN (WV Solar United Neighborhoods), a nonprofit group which forms solar cooperatives in WV.  These cooperatives expand access to solar by educating West Virginians about the benefits of distributed solar energy, helping them organize group solar installations, and strengthening West Virginia’s solar policies and its community of solar supporters.  There are at least five solar cooperatives in our state.  For more information, click on http://www.wvsun.org/.  

NEWS of INTEREST in WV

  • The new Secretary of State fired 16 people, including the head of the Elections Division and two others in the division.  The League believes this will leave voters without a reasonable means of making their questions or concerns about voting known.

STATE LEAGUE CONVENTION

  • You are invited to attend the state league convention on Saturday, May 6, in Parkersburg.  Any league member in WV may attend, and our four local leagues are encouraged to send delegates to make decision for the next biennium. 

 

Huntington’s Feb. Bulletin

Meeting with the Health Department’s Director and Information on Contacting Legislators.

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doc iconFeb 2017 bulletin.doc