To the editor:

Naysayers who would have the city council scrimp on studying how we might operate a public electric utility are myopically uninformed and should not carry the day.

More than 60 other Washington state communities (some smaller than ours) are already doing a fine job of it and those who would deny us the opportunity to investigate this intriguing path evidently don’t want facts to come to light, but would rather bully the council into a penny-wise, pound-foolish stance.

The current multinational corporation that has a monopoly on our electric service will certainly try their best to dissuade us from considering any alternative to a distressingly coal-driven utility, from which their Australian owners profit mightily (with rates only headed in one direction). While the Bonneville Power Authority is not perfect, it is a far more conscientious source of electricity (97 percent carbon-free) and reliably cheaper for the consumer.

Our takeover of the current power infrastructure is not as scary as some make it sound, since it will be paid for by revenue bonds slowly, through our bills, which will still be at least no more than they are now, probably a bit lower. And our electric dollars would support numerous good jobs very nearby, unlike presently.

As further climate disruption stares us in the face, local control of as many resources as possible is the smartest posture in an uncertain future. I believe we deserve to know if and how this particular concept will play out to the consumer’s — and our descendants’ — advantage.

JACO B. TEN HOVE

Winslow