Recently, I attended a city council meeting because I was excited about the opportunity for Hollister to join Monterey Bay Community Power. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are inviting San Benito County to join them in a nonprofit, locally controlled electricity provider whose focus as I understand it, is promoting and buying as much locally produced renewably energy as possible.
They offer consumers an alternative choice to PG&E with competitive rates. Monterey Bay Community Power will also pay more for excess solar power produced by residential roof tops than PG&E currently does. All profits are used locally or returned as rebates while PG&E distributes millions of dollars of the profits it makes from your power bills to its shareholders.
I was surprised at how little the council knew about this venture and how little enthusiasm they had, even after they heard a thorough professional presentation. The city council’s comments were mostly simplistic and negative, except for one informed council member. Hollister is the only major city in the three counties not yet participating. How can Hollister City Council be so uninformed about such a significant venture?
I was shocked when I heard it said, “we have to hear more from the people of Hollister before we are convinced.” Isn’t it their job to lead the community, to search out, investigate and study ways to improve the lives of their constituents and then use their platform to educate and discuss the possibilities with the citizens?
I got the impression that most of city council wanted to sit back and let the citizens come to them and plead their case and wait for judgment. I am sure PG&E and other powerful interests are paid much more attention and respect than we citizens when they attempt to sabotage our efforts in order to protect their profits.
I urge Hollister residents to find out about Monterey Bay Community Power and discuss it with your friends and neighbors. Let the council know immediately what you think. They must vote on this issue very soon.
It is more important now than ever to participate in our government as we are now experiencing the negative impact of citizen apathy and neglect in our country. Let the city council know who is in charge!
—Richard Wist, Hollister