Lets play Electricity Bingo!
You all have a game card at home, here are the numbers on mine:

MY PG&E Bill:

Electrical Energy Charge    26.47 
Transmission                 3.50 
Distribution                29.08 

Public Purpose Programs      3.45 
Nuclear Decommisioning       0.45 
Competition Transfer Tax    17.07 
Trust Transfer Amount        9.94

So lets look at what we might save by having our very own neighborhood power plant. The Transmission line item on the bill refers to getting the power from the power plant to a local substation. (see PG&E definitions below) Note that Metcalf is not a local substation, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

MEC would deliver 600 of the 2000 MW going through Metcalf substation to the south bay. Lets say that costs nothing in transmision fees and the saving is passed on to the whole of the south bay:

savings = $3.50 * 600/2000

BEST CASE GRAND TOTAL SAVINGS: $1.05 WOW!

That's 1.8% of the first 3 lines of the bill.

Compare that with the cost of clean burning gasoline.
The rest of the country pays about 30cents less for gas than we do, about $1.20 a gallon.
30/120 = 25% clean gas cost premium.
Say 40 gallons of gas per month = $12.
Hmmm, a 12:1 ratio there.

  

KEEP THE DOLLAR, AND THE NICKEL TOO. 
  

KEEP POWER PLANTS AWAY FROM NEIGHBORHOODS.
  
  

From PG&E: 
Transmission:
       In the electric utility industry, transmission is 
       defined simply as the movement of high-voltage 
       electricity over long distances. In California's 
       restructured electric utility, the transmission 
       lines, towers, poles and other facilities that 
       move that high-voltage power over long 
       distances remain owned and maintained by the 
       individual utilities, including PG&E, that have 
       always owned them, but will now be operated by 
       the Independent System Operator. 

Distribution: 
        Distribution facilities include the lower-voltage 
        lines, poles, substations, transformers, and other 
        equipment that allow a utility to move power from 
        transmission lines directly to your meter. 
        Distribution lines are those you would normally 
        notice running through neighborhoods and 
        communities. 
  
  

-- 
*******************************************************
*  Tim Alton                                          *
*  LTX Corporation           Voice: (408) 383-2436    *
*  3930 N. First St          Fax:   (408) 433-0255    *
*  San Jose, CA 95134        E-mail:[email protected] *
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