Dear Editor,
On Thursday, March 29, 2012 I took my local newspaper with me to a doctor’s appointment to help me endure the waiting time that all of us are so familiar with. Most of us older people have been to the doctor enough that we know we usually have enough time to read every word of our paper from front to back and still have to look for something else to do as we wait for our turn to see the doctor.
Tens of thousands of jobs?
While reading the paper I noticed all the different companies and businesses that had bought spaces for a message concerning their businesses. Ninety-nine percent of the businesses were thoughtful enough to thank the people of this area for supporting them. However, there was this full-page ad by Southern Company that really jumped out at me. What caught my attention was Not the picture of the construction of Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle, but the fact that not once in their message did they endeavor to thank anyone. To me the perception of their ad was: “Look at what we have done to help the economy?” So let’s look at how they have helped the economic situation in our area.
I do not know about the rest of the Georgia Power consumers, but my light bill has increased over $100.00 a month since the rate hike became effective. Nothing new has been added to my home, so it has been really hard for me to understand why my bill has sky rocketed. I have even asked my air conditioner representative to get with the local Georgia Power Company and see if by looking at my meter if they could determine if there were any spikes in my electricity usage that would help me discern if I had a problem with any of the appliances in my home. They could not find any reason for the increase in my electric bill. So why is my light bill so much higher now that the extra charges are added on? Only Georgia Power will be able to answer that question.
Now, I want to address the statement that Southern Company is generating tens of thousands of jobs. Please “tens of thousands” is a lot of jobs. Just to see how many jobs the creation of Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle would create I called the Southern Company Communications representative, Steve Higginbottan, out of the Southern Company Atlanta office and asked him just how many jobs were being created at Plant Vogtle. The information I received does not even come close to the statement “tens of thousands of jobs”. According to Mr. Higginbottan at the current time there are 1,700-construction workers onsite at Plant Vogtle and at the very height of construction there will be about 3,500 workers onsite. Once the units are built and on line this number will be reduced to 800 full time Southern Company employees. I also found out that some of the parts needed for these units will come from Japan and other countries overseas. I have asked Scott Shaw of Westinghouse to confirm just how many parts are coming from overseas, and as of this date I have not heard from him. Perhaps this is information that Westinghouse and Southern Company would prefer we not know.
I have to ask this company where are the tens of thousands of jobs? Are they scattered throughout the United States and overseas? I also have to ask Southern Company where is their integrity? One would think that this company would want to thank the consumers of the Georgia Power electricity and the taxpayers of this nation for we are the ones that are carrying the extra financial burdens for these units in one of the worse economic recessions in history. Also, you would think they would want to thank the people who live in the surrounding areas that have truly supported this company. At the very least you would expect Southern Company to thank their employees for jobs well done, which has allowed these plants and the company’s other sites to run safely, which has allowed them to make a profit.
There are so many different ways this company could have went with their ad. They could have been informative and told us how much electricity Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle were producing. They could have stated how much of this electricity stayed in the state of Georgia and how much is being sold outside of the state. This would have been interesting knowledge. However, they chose to try and be impressive with their statements without any facts to back up those statements.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but “big business” these days just does not impress me. Not only this company, but also all the other really big companies seem to have forgotten what and who has helped make them what they are today. Gone are the days that large companies felt gratitude not only toward their employees, but also toward the people that have taken part in building their companies. Big business today has turned into a greedy profit producing machine that feels no allegiance toward anyone or anything, but themselves. How many big companies has the American public watched that has taken taxpayer dollars only to give their upper management big bonuses or have failed completely? I have lost count.
So Southern Company besides the construction jobs that will eventually disappear, and the 800 full-time Company employees jobs - just how will Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle help us? Will my Georgia Power light bill go down when these units go on line? Will there be more jobs than your representative told me about? I invite you to inform me and the public on the location of these jobs, and while you are at it will you please let us know how much money is given to management at all levels in the form of bonuses or incentives? I would like to know how the money from the extra charges on my light bill and the taxpayer-funded loan is being spent.
Sharon Simmons
I do not know about the rest of the Georgia Power consumers, but my light bill has increased over $100.00 a month since the rate hike became effective. Nothing new has been added to my home, so it has been really hard for me to understand why my bill has sky rocketed. I have even asked my air conditioner representative to get with the local Georgia Power Company and see if by looking at my meter if they could determine if there were any spikes in my electricity usage that would help me discern if I had a problem with any of the appliances in my home. They could not find any reason for the increase in my electric bill. So why is my light bill so much higher now that the extra charges are added on? Only Georgia Power will be able to answer that question.
Now, I want to address the statement that Southern Company is generating tens of thousands of jobs. Please “tens of thousands” is a lot of jobs. Just to see how many jobs the creation of Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle would create I called the Southern Company Communications representative, Steve Higginbottan, out of the Southern Company Atlanta office and asked him just how many jobs were being created at Plant Vogtle. The information I received does not even come close to the statement “tens of thousands of jobs”. According to Mr. Higginbottan at the current time there are 1,700-construction workers onsite at Plant Vogtle and at the very height of construction there will be about 3,500 workers onsite. Once the units are built and on line this number will be reduced to 800 full time Southern Company employees. I also found out that some of the parts needed for these units will come from Japan and other countries overseas. I have asked Scott Shaw of Westinghouse to confirm just how many parts are coming from overseas, and as of this date I have not heard from him. Perhaps this is information that Westinghouse and Southern Company would prefer we not know.
I have to ask this company where are the tens of thousands of jobs? Are they scattered throughout the United States and overseas? I also have to ask Southern Company where is their integrity? One would think that this company would want to thank the consumers of the Georgia Power electricity and the taxpayers of this nation for we are the ones that are carrying the extra financial burdens for these units in one of the worse economic recessions in history. Also, you would think they would want to thank the people who live in the surrounding areas that have truly supported this company. At the very least you would expect Southern Company to thank their employees for jobs well done, which has allowed these plants and the company’s other sites to run safely, which has allowed them to make a profit.
There are so many different ways this company could have went with their ad. They could have been informative and told us how much electricity Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle were producing. They could have stated how much of this electricity stayed in the state of Georgia and how much is being sold outside of the state. This would have been interesting knowledge. However, they chose to try and be impressive with their statements without any facts to back up those statements.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but “big business” these days just does not impress me. Not only this company, but also all the other really big companies seem to have forgotten what and who has helped make them what they are today. Gone are the days that large companies felt gratitude not only toward their employees, but also toward the people that have taken part in building their companies. Big business today has turned into a greedy profit producing machine that feels no allegiance toward anyone or anything, but themselves. How many big companies has the American public watched that has taken taxpayer dollars only to give their upper management big bonuses or have failed completely? I have lost count.
So Southern Company besides the construction jobs that will eventually disappear, and the 800 full-time Company employees jobs - just how will Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle help us? Will my Georgia Power light bill go down when these units go on line? Will there be more jobs than your representative told me about? I invite you to inform me and the public on the location of these jobs, and while you are at it will you please let us know how much money is given to management at all levels in the form of bonuses or incentives? I would like to know how the money from the extra charges on my light bill and the taxpayer-funded loan is being spent.
Sharon Simmons
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