RON DAVIS -- Through My Eyes

The city of Huntington Beach is attempting to get AES (Always an

Eye-Sore) Corp. to beautify its power plant at Newland Street and Pacific

Coast Highway. Although I suspect that pigs ought to be offended by this

comparison, it strikes me that any attempt to beautify it will be like

putting lipstick on a swine.

We, and I’m talking about you and me, had our chance to do something

about the power plant, but we shorted out. Earlier this month, we were

offered an opportunity to generate (power plant pun) $1.2 million in

annual revenue from the plant by way of a 5% utility tax. But, the voters

of Huntington Beach rejected Measure Q.

AES succeeded in generating a negative electrical field about Measure

Q. It shocked many of the voters in Huntington Beach into believing this

tax would surface in their electrical bills and be passed on to the

residents of the city. That might have been true if the electricity AES

generated was sold exclusively to city residents, but it isn’t. It’s sold

to a power grid, which in turn sells it to other cities.

Let me simplify this by reverting to the pig analogy. Most people

don’t find pigs to be particularly attractive -- lipstick or not. A hog

farm in Huntington Beach would create problems. They make noise, they’re

unsightly, and they’re major polluters. But, pigs also have value because

they produce bacon, pork and ham.

If we raised pigs in Huntington Beach that were used to exclusively

feed the residents of Huntington Beach, then it might make sense to put

up with their unsightliness and pollution because of the direct benefits

to our community. But, when the pigs raised in our community are sold

elsewhere, just as AES sells its electricity, it doesn’t make sense to

put up with downsides when we’re not getting the benefit. I can’t speak

for you, but I certainly haven’t proudly touted Huntington Beach as the

home of an AES power plant.

In my view, we had our wires crossed when we rejected the imposition

of a utility tax on AES that would have either been absorbed by them or

passed on to people in other cities who receive the benefit of the

plant’s electricity without the detriment of having the plant in their

city.

We also shot ourselves in the foot by not passing Measure Q because we

made it cheaper to generate electricity in Huntington Beach. And what

happens when a product is cheaper? Demand increases. And when more

electricity is produced, more pollution and other effects are produced.

And that’s exactly what’s happening to us. AES now wants to activate

two boilers and potentially expand its plant. Officials there claim

there’s an energy shortage, and while they’re probably right, should

Huntington Beach shoulder the negative costs of supplying this energy for

other communities, without compensation from those in those communities?

I don’t think so.

Asking the people in other cities, who receive our juice and don’t get

stuck with the rind, to pay for the negative consequence to this city

seems imminently fair. I hope the City Council places an initiative

similar to Measure Q on the ballot in the future. And if we have the

energy to pass it, maybe we’ll have enough money to buy a little lipstick

and rouge. * RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in

Huntington Beach. He can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]