Idea! Have Electric Utlities subsidize light rail in

in exchange for greenhouse gas emission credits. The 1930 act that prohobited eletric companys from owning streetcars companys has been repealed and many of the old interurban ROWs are still in place and now being used for powerlines such as the the Washinton Baltimore and Annapolis Line as well as lines in Millwalkie

sounds like another law that was put into place so someone could sell bus tires..

Imagine the outcry when utility customers living where is no service have their rates go up to help pay for those who can use the service! For that matter, imagoine when EVERYONE's utility bills go up, whether they do or don't use the service! Besides, electric powerplants in this country are in less than ideal condition. Have new nuclear powerplants built, and maybe your idea will be more palatable.

donredhead wrote:in exchange for greenhouse gas emission credits. The 1930 act that prohobited eletric companys from owning streetcars companys has been repealed and many of the old interurban ROWs are still in place and now being used for powerlines such as the the Washinton Baltimore and Annapolis Line as well as lines in Millwalkie

If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, it's not.

-otto-

superbad wrote:sounds like another law that was put into place so someone could sell bus tires..

actually, I believe it was part of movement to break up big businesses that were, at the time, monopolies. I don't buy the "imagine my rates going up" since there can be some synergy between the two much the way large users can contract predictable amounts of energy.

Suburban Station wrote:actually, I believe it was part of movement to break up big businesses that were, at the time, monopolies. I don't buy the "imagine my rates going up" since there can be some synergy between the two much the way large users can contract predictable amounts of energy.

I think, all though I do not know for certain, that you are correct. There were not a whole lot of buses needing tires in 1930 or prior. Actually, I always thought that power companies began developing transit lines throughout the country so that they would have customers to sell the electricity instead of waiting for homes and businesses to upgrade to electric power.

Unfortunately, power companies are able to sell the power generated without having to develop transit customers so the likelihood of them wanting to setup a subsidiary would be small. But then again, maybe you could get a manufacturer and electricity company to setup a company to develop rail lines in partnership with governments ( which would help lower the construction costs). Then have the new transit company buy equipment from the manufacturer and electricity from the power company. The transit company would operate at a loss and the parent companies could use the loss as a write off. Or maybe not.

In all seriousness though, I do wish municipal owned power systems were used more often to defer the operating costs of transit systems. I know the City of Ann Arbor owns a few dams that produce a few hundred thousand dollars worth of electricity a year. It would be nice if that could be used by transit knocking down transit's carbon foot print even more.

Well, a lot of the streetcar systems in the Northwest I believe later turned into power companies. BC Hydro and PGE come to mind as examples.

It may not be feasible for greenhouse gas credits (the stupidest thing known to environmentalism), but it might be a possible way for them to add transmission lines using right of ways. People often complain about new power lines because of perceived cancer threats, but if the line were to serve a second purpose as a transit line, that might overshadow the use for electrical distribution. I got the idea from a picture of the NEC somewhere in I think New Jersey where the catenary towers carry high tension power lines high above the tracks. If electric companies could easily run new power lines and use a light rail (or electric heavy rail) line as an excuse, they might be up for it. Think of all the railroad lines in this country that could benefit from electrification, then think of if the public would even notice a few extra wires on the catenary towers.