Nineteen years ago, I transferred here from Chicago with my family for what was supposed to be a three-year assignment managing an assembly plant here in Pueblo.

My wife and I liked the community so much that we decided to stay and raise our family here. We liked the people, the cost of living, and the weather and outdoor activities.

After getting involved in the community in those first years (Chamber of Commerce, Airport Industrial Park Mangers Group, PEDCO, D60 Schools, etc.), I was amazed by the can do attitude of Puebloans and the bold, far-sighted projects that the community undertook to improve

Pueblo’s future. These were big multiyear efforts that took real commitment, like building the Riverwalk, forming PEDCO, and the RTA project. I like the notion, so well stated by legendary radio host Paul Harvey, that Pueblo is a place that has the will and the grit to accomplish things that many larger cities wouldn’t do. And these things make the community better for our kids and grandkids for decades to come.

The electric rates we pay as a community are a real threat to our future and I firmly believe that making the move to a publicly owned electric utility (let’s call it PW&E to save me words) is a project that is essential to the long term success of Pueblo.

The rate we pay Black Hills (BHE) here for the electricity we use in our homes and apartments is 41% higher than the state average for residential. Where I work, our bills as an industrial user are a whopping 77% higher than the state average. (Visit electricitylocal.com for the gruesome details.)

When it comes to attracting new business to Pueblo, these rates can be a deal breaker.

In the early 2000s, Pueblo had electric rates that were well below the national average. Today, our rates are among the highest in the nation.

So why will our PW&E be less expensive? The sky-high BHE rates are largely due to three things: the structure of an investor-owned utility allowed by the government to greatly inflate their cost base and make a big profit on that inflated base, federal and state taxes, and the price they pay for power.

I’m a business guy and want the figures: BHE’s return on equity (profit) amounts to about $37 million annually. Federal and state taxes BHE pays each year are approximately $17.8 million.

The EES Phase II study shows that our PW&E can save $30 million-$40 million per year by paying less for power.

To determine the overall financial benefit, we take the revenue, subtract all the expenses, including debt service for a very conservative purchase price, and payments to the City that would replace the taxes BHE pays.

The result is that over $30 million will be kept in the community annually (if Ballot Issue 2 passes), beginning in the next 7-10 years.

And what about the misleading pro-BHE ads?

First, the Boulder comparison. Big differences stand out: we won’t waste nearly 5 years battling the PUC in court over jurisdiction, PUC has jurisdiction; we have no need to set up the "paper" utility that cost Boulder the majority of their $23 million; Pueblo Water is already a utility and has the staff to manage the project; our ballot language is more flexible, which speeds up the process; and we won’t have the huge expense of splitting up the distribution system to match the city limits.

And then there is the government takeover argument. The reality is that going rom BHE to PW&E is removing non-beneficial government that exists today.

Regarding the reliability issue, publicly owned utilities nationally have less outages than investor owned utilities like BHE.

And then there is the ridiculous "pay for it twice" advertisement. With the rates we are paying BHE currently, we are basically buying the utility over and over again about every 10 years.

Black Hills is making big money here in Pueblo, we can see by the huge amount of our rate payer money they are using to keep their cash cow.

Pueblo Water has done a great job for Pueblo and I am confident they can bring us electricity in the same reliable way.

Let’s see this for what it can be, an opportunity to improve Pueblo for the future. We have a history of doing BIG things and with Pueblo’s can co attitude, we can do this.

Vote for 2A.

Andrew Lang is the Chief Operating Officer for TR Toppers, a local food processing and distribution company. He has been and is involved in a number of organizations in the Pueblo community, including The United Way Mentoring Program, as a Director for PEDCO, Chairman of the PEDCO Foundation, and past positions on numerous local boards.