Local opinion: City takeover would lower our power bills

At the March 3 Mayor and Council Study Session, during a discussion on Public Power, Ward 6 Council Member and fellow DSA member, Miranda Schubert shared my story of receiving a letter from TEP saying my budget billing was shooting up from $169 a month to $328 a month.

As someone living on a fixed income, paying a $169 TEP bill every month for my 700-square-foot condo already forced me to cut back on other areas of my life, and sometimes all I can afford is canned food instead of fresh.

Now my monthly bills are doubling, and that’s before TEP’s 14% rate hike request kicks in. Meanwhile, TEP’s President and CEO Susan Gray is making millions a year and Fortis, the for-profit Canadian company that owns TEP, made $1.7 billion in net earnings last year.

I know I’m not alone in my struggle to pay my TEP bill each month. As a member of the Tucson Democratic Socialists of America, I’ve canvassed many times and have talked to other community members who are getting unaffordable TEP bills that keep on rising.

People are tired of living with TEP’s hand in their pocket and them taking more and more every year from us for their shareholders. And we know it’s going to get even worse as TEP supports powering hyperscale data centers that will drive bills up even higher. Enough is enough. We can only survive so many TEP rate hikes.

The only way to free ourselves from TEP’s greed is a public power utility. I support the City of Tucson doing a complete takeover of TEP’s electric grid within the city limits of Tucson. A feasibility study conducted by independent experts found it would save the average household over $200 a year within the first five years of a takeover.

I thank Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council for discussing public power at the study session and for acknowledging the thousands of people like me who are asking them to move forward with taking over TEP. I also thank the Mayor and City Council for deciding to hold public conversations on the future of Tucson’s energy system, because right now TEP is spending a lot of money on PR to convince us to stay with the status quo.

In a recent press release, TEP claimed most customers are “highly satisfied” with them. I could not be more dissatisfied with TEP and know the Tucsonans I’ve talked to about public power feel the same. TEP bills are crushing us, and we need the Mayor and City Council to help us fulfill our constitutional right to take back our grid.

I look forward to having these community conversations and working together to win an energy system that exists to serve the people of Tucson, not make profit. I know a public power utility would better serve my needs and all those who fear looking at their TEP bill each month as temperatures skyrocket.