Letter to the Editor
San Antonio Express-News

If you believe a $4 billion price increase will end the nuclear expansion project, think again. I lived in Austin when the first nuclear plant was proposed. We voted it down twice. The third time, we got lax, and the proponents gathered enough votes to authorize the project.

This time, the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, SEED, the Consumer Energy Coalition, Energy Mia and others brought in knowledgeable speakers and presented city government with evidence regarding escalating costs and the dangers of nuclear waste. The information was ignored. Moody's Investor Service, which rates CPS' credit worthiness, said last year the expansion would cost $17 billion or more.

We asked CPS for solid data on the "facts" it presented to the public. We're still waiting. CPS board chairman Aurora Geis promised there would not be a vote until that information was produced and she saw the data. That did not happen. Milton Lee, CPS' CEO, promised to make that data public. It is not.

This project is about power and money (for a few), not about what is best for CPS customers who will shoulder the burden of rate increases.

My guess: Steve Bartley and gang will go to Japan, return saying they have assurances the cost will be less; they will convince City Council to go forward; the final cost will be $20 billion-plus; and you and I and our children will pay for this mistake.

Karen Dalglish Seal,
La Coste