Cobb Electrical Membership Corporation was formed to bring affordable power to an underdeveloped rural area. That mission was accomplished long ago and the company's territory is now mostly non-rural. While the employees of Cobb EMC do a commendable job of bringing reliable power to the ratepayers of this cooperative, the price we pay for it is way too high. Some argue that a new coal plant would solve this problem. But that just isn't true.

On my last Cobb EMC power bill, my net cost including taxes and Wholesale Power Adjustment was over 14 cents per kwh. Friends who live near me, but use Georgia Power, paid 9.2 cents per kwh. My bill is much higher this summer than last, despite cooler weather.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article declaring that low demand has pushed spot market prices for electricity down by 40 percent. So, why are our Cobb EMC rates still rising?

In recent days, South Carolina's public electric utility, Santee Cooper, suspended the quest for permits for its proposed coal plant. Its decision coincided with the issuance of draft permits for the proposed Plant Washington coal plant, in which Cobb EMC is a primary investor.

With reduced demand and reduced power costs, why is Cobb EMC investing in a coal plant when other energy companies are rejecting this path?

Santee Cooper's CEO said their decision came down to one word: need. He acknowledged that electrical demand is declining, a phenomenon experienced by electrical utilities across the Southeast.

The economic recession has diminished demand and changed projections for the plant with lower sales and forecasts of a slow recovery. He also expressed concern about the rising costs of coal-burning power plants and congressional air quality initiatives, which will most certainly result in a significantly increased cost to emit or mitigate these emissions.

Across the country, utilities and states are abandoning new coal-fired power plants, citing pollution concerns, health risks, increasing coal and construction costs and the decreasing cost of natural gas. But not Cobb EMC.

Cobb EMC rates continue to rise dramatically while management persists in pursuing a costly coal plant. The costs of burning coal are rising, thanks to restrictive emissions laws and increased costs of mining. There are alternatives.

Why not promote roof top solar on Cobb businesses? A Wal-Mart roof can generate over 1 megawatt. A small financial incentive would encourage businesses to use their capital to build generation capability that would benefit EMC members. There would be no additional costs of distribution, virtually no EMC capital involved, and power would be generated near the load and at times when it is needed most. Cobb EMC offers incentives for residential solar, but none for the owners of shopping centers or other large buildings. Why?

Or Cobb EMC could be negotiating lower rates for power now while demand is low. Why hasn't the Wholesale Power Adjustment gone down? Is there something else contributing to the high WPA other than just the cost of power?

Before investing billions of dollars of Cobb EMC's resources - resources rightfully owned by the members of the co-op - we members need to be convinced that Power4Georgians' Plant Washington is a sound investment in the current reality.

EMC's owners want the hard facts and figures on this project. What is Cobb EMC's electrical demand now and the projections for the future? How long will it take for demand to rebound? Why has the WPA gone up while demand and open market prices have gone down? What other sources of power have been considered and why were they ruled out? Has a sale of Cobb EMC to Georgia Power been considered? And why must we pay more for the same power?

Many of us have lost confidence in the current administration of our EMC. Our bills indicate that management is not working in the best interests of the members. These issues must be addressed in an open and public manner. Show the member owners all the numbers of demand, supply and costs. We are entitled to help make informed decisions.

Cobb EMC member Milt Aitken owns and operates Net2Atlanta, a Cobb County-based Internet Service Provider and holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.