MEA’s runaway costs

To the editor:

MEA is doing a great disservice to all of us who are its members. The cost for electric energy is now rising at an unreasonable rate simply because the present board and management cannot control costs.

For example, the new Eklutna Generating Station is now over the original budget by more than $110 million (nearly 50 percent over budget). It is also seven months behind schedule. According to Chugach Electric, who will dispatch the power from this plant, the Eklutna plant did not meet industry operating standards as of late March. The membership of MEA will pay this bill through higher rates, and we have a plant that is still below industry operating standards. It can be brought up by investing even more time and money.

Another example of the lack of basic cost control is the labor contracts with the IBEW union. MEA has posted these contracts on their website. Looking at just the outside agreement, which covers the warehouse workers, equipment operators, auto mechanics, lineman and meter relay technicians, we see that the wages for these workers at the termination of the contract will be more than $114,000 a year. This boils down to more than $55 per hour. Keep in mind this is just wages. When we add in the benefits of pension, health plans, paid vacation, and the like at 76 percent (MEA’s own calculated number) of direct wages, the annual cost for these workmen is more than $200,000 per year. We MEA members are paying these exorbitant costs in our electric bills.

On top of all this, when the present board majority of Janet Kincaid, Kit Jones, Peter Burchell and Lois Lester took over MEA had 112 full-time employees. This number has now bloated to 166 full-time employees. Multiply that by the $200,000 a year and see where we get. Remember, we are paying for this with our electric bills.

Now the incumbents are bragging about what a great job they have done for us. It seems obvious to me they have done a great job to us.

No incumbent deserves our vote.

Aaron Downing

Palmer