See What Your Idaho Power Bill Buys

I guess my monthly bill paid for this.  It’s a hybrid vehicle, parked in Twin Falls, and used as a promotion by Idaho Power.  I saw a fully electric vehicle with the power company’s markings a few years ago.  I guess the hybrid looks better because charging an EV in an age when electricity demand is skyrocketing is a luxury.  The thing is, I want lights to come on when I flip a switch, not some parade car tooling around on my dime.

The trouble is, I don’t have a checkbook to pay for a powerful legislator, so these toys get overlooked by the bought and paid-for legislature.

You Paid Dearly for This

Don’t take this as an indictment of hybrid cars.  I worked at a radio station with a conservative talk format back in 2003.  The General Manager thought it would be cool to have us drive a marked Toyota Prius.  Sheer genius!  We carried Rush Limbaugh three hours a day, who promoted big, safe, and conventional vehicles.  It reminds me of a recent conservative Republican for Governor of Idaho who was featured with an EV at a summer parade.  It doesn’t match the image, and your base scoffs at the idea, but hey, someone thought it was a good idea.

Show Versus Service

The difference is that I must pay Idaho Power to keep my lights on.  The radio company paid me, and a candidate can make her own decisions.  The car I saw in the Smiths’ parking lot tells me what the executives at the electric company really think of me, and it’s not very nice.