Tuesday, May 13, 2008

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Several regions of the country went through droughts last year, and citizens in those areas were asked to conserve water. Most people complied voluntarily, and now they're being rewarded.... With higher rates.

Yes, it's true. People in drought stricken communities did such a good job with conservation that the utilities responsible for supplying the water suffered severe drops in revenue. This in turn created problems when it came to servicing local bond issues, and so they are now being forced to raise their rates to make up for the losses. Users of Atlanta's water are seeing a 15% rate increase, and customers in Florida are being hit with surcharges to cover the utilities' losses.

0 thoughtful ramblings: