Xcel Energy’s bad plan to raise rates
Re: “Xcel Energy wants to spend $100 million to meet summer electricity demands,” April 21 news story
After reading the article about Xcel Energy’s plan to charge customers higher summer rates to make up for the loss of coal-fired power plants, I have a question for the company and the Public Utility Commission. Can these costs be funded by charging data centers the same rates that we residential customers pay?
There are at least five such centers near my residence in Centennial. It is widely known that these businesses require tremendous amounts of electricity to power their servers and additional energy to cool them. Our residential rates are already high and as senior citizens, we try to conserve power by using a whole-house evaporative cooler instead of traditional air conditioning. It does not seem equitable for us to be paying for more infrastructure when data centers and other large consumers have the benefit of lower rates.
Ricki Feist, Centennial
The first few pages of The Denver Post on Wednesday left me shaking my head in disbelief. Xcel wants an extra $100 million to do its one job of keeping the power on this summer. A state legislator wants the always financially struggling Denver Public Schools to take over the Sheridan schools as well, while cities in the Denver metro area are intent on forcing us out of our cars and onto buses. RTD announces they are cutting 20% of their routes. The inmates truly are running the asylum.
David Forsyth, Denver
RTD should look at administration costs for cuts
Re: “RTD management wants directors to cut public transit by at least 20%,” April 21 news story
I’m sorry, but I need some help with RTD’s numbers. Its overall budget is reported to be $1.5 billion. RTD’s management wants to cut service by 20% in order to reduce spending by $62 million, which is, wait for it, a 4.1% savings.
If RTD does not get a $40 million subsidy from the state (which seems likely given the state’s lack of money), a further 16% cut in service would be required for a total service reduction of 36% – over one third. Which would save RTD $102 million. But wait, this is only a budgetary savings of 6.8%.
If RTD’s solution is to make savage reductions in service for minuscule budgetary reductions, perhaps they need to look for potential savings on the management/administration side of the business. If RTD cuts service by 20%, perhaps upper management should take a 20% pay cut as well.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Boycotting Prime’s playoff viewing
Time for Troy Renck and others to take the next step against greedy TV. Fans can refuse to be manipulated by paid viewing platforms in the same way defensive linemen can refuse to be manipulated by a quarterback’s hard counts. When Prime started streaming exclusive NFL games, we refused to watch even though we subscribe for movies. We put FOMO (fear of missing out) aside, and it turned out doing so was quite easy! Renck gives a better game summary anyway.
Judy Allison, Lakewood
As a fan of the Denver Nuggets, I have been looking forward to all week to watching their first-round playoff game. Unfortunately, the game is only being televised on Prime Video (Amazon). I have tried all the different options, including FUBO TV, but apparently, Prime has blocked all options out.
I, for one, will not be forced to subscribe to Prime and will respond by no longer being an Amazon customer. I have tried a similar online ordering service and found it to be comparable. If I am not the only fan upset, join me in my boycott. I am also upset with the NBA for allowing this to happen. It feels like fans are being tuned out for the money.
Steve Nash, Centennial
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