To the editor:

In your recent opinion piece the Review argued against the city spending money on a feasibility study now to create a public power electric utility on Bainbridge.

Last October, 1,200 island citizens submitted petitions to the city asking that creation of a community owned utility be put on the ballot. In the face of this significant interest in establishing such a utility, not to do a fact based feasibility study now would be irresponsible.

PSE’s December 2015 rate increase was 11 percent, and they have already filed for another rate increase this year. That is more than $2,000,000 per year in additional cost to island ratepayers.

Wouldn’t spending one twentieth of this money, $100,000, to see if the business case for having a community owned, carbon free (BPA power is 97 percent carbon-free) and board-managed utility make sense?

Jefferson PUD bought out PSE two years ago, and their rates are now 5 percent less than PSE leaving $1 million in ratepayer’s pockets, and delivering 97 percent carbon-free power.

PSE and its supporters do not want a study because a competent study is bound to show very large economic, environmental and reliability benefits from having a community owned utility, and would highlight the risks of staying with a power company that is foreign owned and faced with huge increased costs and carbon tax risks. They would far rather do as the Review recommends and have a vote on this issue without benefit of the facts.

STEVE JOHNSON

Bainbridge Island