By Eugene Platt
Published in The Post and Courier

The recent news about Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s “new fee on new houses” was like an early Christmas gift to almost everyone in the Lowcountry negatively impacted by unbridled development.

As co-sponsor, along with Summerville Town Councilman Aaron Brown, of the recently rejected resolution in the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (COG) that might have tempered such development, I see Berkeley Electric Cooperative as a surrogate Santa Claus. A fringe benefit of its new fee will be identical to the goal of the resolution rejected by COG.

Perhaps this bold action by the cooperative, which is a conservatively run utility not known for radical actions to preserve the Lowcountry’s quality of life, will prompt COG to reconsider its hasty, irresponsible rejection of Mr. Brown’s and my resolution.

In any case, it is time for the too-timid state Legislature to follow the lead of Berkeley Electric Cooperative. The Legislature should act now to spare current customers of all utilities the burden of paying the extra costs of unbridled development.

It is embarrassing to note my own representative, Wallace Scarborough, has been silent on this issue.

If successful in my bid to unseat him in next November’s elections, I pledge to do better.

EUGENE PLATT
Commissioner
James Island PSD
Gilmore Court
James Island