Lassen Municipal Utility District (MUD) is 1 of more than 2,000 publicly owned utilities across our nation—49 states and 5 U.S. territories have a public power utility. Together, we have a powerful voice in how our communities are served.
LMUD General Counsel Gene Chittock, Public Relations Manager Theresa Phillips, and I joined the American Public Power Association (APPA), Utah Association of Municipal Power Suppliers (UAMPS), California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), and hundreds of public power professionals on February 26 through 29 at our nation’s capital to advocate for the principles and priorities of the public power community.
We met with our elected officials to discuss issues that affect how we do business and serve our community. These issues not only affect LMUD but every public power utility across the nation. We advocate for local control and the ability to make commonsense decisions in the best interest of our customers with a common goal of serving our communities with reliable, affordable, and safe energy.
APPA, UAMPS, and CMUA exist to represent our collective voices, giving us strength in numbers. They monitor the political climate statewide, regionally, and nationally, keeping an eye on legislation that may affect our community and customers. They forge relationships with elected officials who, in turn, listen to our concerns and incorporate them into the bills and legislation they support or oppose.
The goal of the legislative rally is to educate our elected representatives and help them understand their decisions have a direct effect on our customers. Our focus is minimizing pressure on rates. Policies set by agencies to reduce emissions or increase efficiency, as we are seeing with the new transformer requirements, will certainly have a negative impact on electric rates. We adamantly oppose unnecessary regulations that put an undue burden on customers. We wholeheartedly support the efforts of our industry partners to find commonsense alternatives that put people first.
Although we may not have a say in every piece of legislation that affects us, we will continue to use our voices to ensure we have a seat at the table when decisions are being made.
To find out more about public power and the role it plays in our nation’s well-being, visit the Public Power website.
Robby Hamlin
General Manager