Draft Sixth Power Plan Comment

I congratulate the Council members on their excellent plans to stabilize CO2 emissions through intensive energy conservation. That is a good beginning. However, the commission's plan fails to address reduction of current excessive emissions. Council members opted not to include staff’s mid-range estimate of carbon emissions costs for utilities to use in their planning and ongoing operations – which in itself would cut current emissions by about a third. The proposal does not call for early retirement or even reduced dependence on the coal plants that now supply about 23% of the region’s electricity and 87% of the power system’s greenhouse gas emissions. The staff report determined that there would be a minimal cost to retire "dirty" electricity generating facilities. The Council's failure to accept the staff report is contrary to its mission and wholly inappropriate. Sensible people can no longer deny the grave danger posed to our civilization by our out-of-control CO2 emissions. I urge you to address this issue with strength and courage.