A linchpin of the local economy, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District confronts some formidable challenges in the years ahead.
Like other utilities, SMUD must comply with state mandates to reduce its carbon footprint, both by using energy more efficiently and by getting more of it from the wind, the sun and other sources.
At the same time, SMUD must keep its rates competitive. Failure to do so could prompt businesses to locate elsewhere, leaving the utility with stranded costs that ratepayers would have to bear.
On Nov. 4, voters in Ward 2, which stretches from Folsom to Elk Grove, will choose among three candidates for the SMUD seat now held by Susan Patterson. The best choice in the race is Nancy Bui, an energy and technology consultant who is making her first run for office.
Bui, who previously worked for the California Independent System Operator, is well-versed in energy issues. Her technical expertise would help SMUD as it transitions to digital metering and other programs to limit energy use on the hottest of summer days.
Bui, who has been endorsed by Patterson and four other SMUD board directors, is also a committed advocate of green energy. That's what stands her apart from Mark Bahouth, a business manager who is her main competitor.
Bahouth, who has worked for Numonyx and Intel since 1995, keeps undercutting his stated support for renewable energy by adding that it "is two to four times more expensive" than conventional power. That's true, but Bahouth fails to note that costs for gas-fired power plants are expected to soar in coming decades. Investments in renewables, while expensive now, will pay off over the long term in dollars and a cleaner world.
SMUD needs strong directors who, while watching the bottom line, have the courage to make those long-term investments. Bui is the candidate who seems best ready to take on that task.
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