To the editor,

During the May 28, 2024 River Falls City Council Meeting, an elected Alderperson commented, regarding financial issues under discussion, “if you are not at the table, you are probably on the menu!” The 6,000 River Falls electric rate payers would do well to heed this warning.

Electric rate payers have never had a representative, identifiable presence at the Kinni Corridor table or with the city council, and yet money from your electric utility budget has been used to pay at least 50% of the Kinni Corridor/dam removal-related expenses. Costs have included things like the corridor planning “charade” and presentations where trout fishing hobbyists and dam removal consultants were paid with electric utility funds to publicly voice their opinions that our dams and hydros should be removed.

October 2020, your city decided to drain Lake Louise, shutting down the Powell Falls Hydro. At this time the hydro was generating 50,000 kWh of electricity each month. In the 44 months since this city hydro shut down, your electric utility has lost over 2.2 million kWh of electricity generating capacity. At 11.1 cents per kWh, this represents a cumulative loss of electric utility revenue of over $240,000. This loss will continue to increase monthly as there has been no effort to replace our lost local renewable energy or your lost electric utility revenue.

The 6,000 River Falls electric utility customers do not seem to be represented at the Kinni Corridor/city table. You are the ones paying the monthly bills. If you don’t want to continue as a silent “menu” item, let your thoughts on using the electric utility budget to remove the (renewable energy producing!) dam and hydro be known to your elected representatives! Organize! Let your 6,000 collective voices be heard! Take a place at the table!

William Hansen

Town of River Falls