Letter: Does TEP Owe Tucson Citizen's $300 Mil?

Ron Proctor wonders in his letter to the editor if TEP owes us $300Mil? First, thanks to Ron for his work as a climate activist. I count myself in this group working with Citizen’s Climate Lobby, and others. Now, the question. When looking at a for-profit monopoly, like TEP, it pays to be suspicious. Billing practices, profit levels and more are fair game for questioning. Ron wonders if TEP billing a “franchise fee” to pay the city’s contract is suspicious if not worse. For me, billing a “franchise fee” is simply a pass-through charge like TEP's “energy fee”. When the market price for natural gas goes up (something TEP does not control) our bills go up, and reverse when the price drops. Pass through charges are a common billing practices in many industries and at least for this specific concern, I believe TEP deserves a pass.