I agree with the ideas expressed by Gordon Matthews (“Plan ahead for power generation,” Our Readers’ Views, March 30). Clark Public Utilities seems to have fallen behind in diversifying the sources of energy generation that it uses. There is or was a solar program, but the description I recall was so cryptic that it was not possible to count the cost.
In addition to diversifying sources of energy, there are questions about risk management that should be addressed. The current rate increase and the previous losses of $20 million in 2023 and $11 million in 2021 suggest that adequate risk management practices are not being used. Buying electricity forward would allow the price to be fixed and so reduce the dependence on the volatile spot price. Climate change increases the risk of the spot market and makes risk management even more important.
