Local Utilities

 I recently moved to Huntsville, Alabama, a city that is bursting with technology and growing at a rapid rate.

 Hunstville as a lot to offer newcomers. Fine Arts, museums, Engineering capitol of the south and some of the best musical artist I've seen anywhere!

I've lived in 10 states and many more cities. Some much smaller but most were bigger than Huntsville. So, what has me seeing red about the city? The local utility company. Huntsville Utilities charges one of the highest rates for deposits and setup fees I've ever seen or heard of. New customers are charged $500 for a deposit and $80 for their "administrative" fee. Tese amounts wer recently raised from $300 and $60, respectively. You would think in todays economy there would be consideration for people who have lost their jobs, are homeless and who are trying to make a decent life but just can't rise above the cost of living. There are no explainations given as to why this is a fair amount for their fees nor do they think it is unreasonable. But in taking a closer look at the overall picture, since most have been hit by the jobless rate and losing what little pride and dignity that is left, there are some people who have abondoned their places of abode with bills owing. Also, the current heat wave we are experiencing has some officials thinking that if they cut off consumers who are behind on their utilities, some could suffer heatstroke or death. In this case, the city or utility company may be found liable.

While I agree it's not fair to consumers who pay their bill on time, it is certainly not fair to raise deposits and admin fees to recoup the cost of those who can't afford to pay. It's not fair to unsuspecting newcomers to be slammed with surprising amount they must come up with just to get started. If you are a newcomer to Huntsville and you just want to rent a house, you must come up with the first months rent, an equal amount for the deposit and then the whopping $580 for utilities.

I lived in Texas for nearly 20 years and the best thing that ever happened with energy is the deregulation of utilities. There are at least 20 companies to choose from to provide your utilities in Texas including one that is wind and hydro generated. Most don't charge a deposit just a connect fee of around $50 or so.

I opted to go green with the wind and hydro company. No use of coal or oils or anything that isn't natural. Wind is free and so is water in most cases.

When I checked in to Huntsville's go green plan, I was in for a real shock! Not only are they not green, but to be involved with their go green plan, you must contribute a monthly fee on top of their already high rates! And it's not available in our area so why would you want to contribute to something you can't reap the benefit from? I decided not to participate in their go green efforts but in reading the rates...it made me turn green.

Let's deregulate Alabama utilities! Save money! Save the people! Freedom of choice!