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Letter: Municipal power a money-saver

Thursday, October 27, 2005

     I own Toscanini's ice cream in Cambridge, and my brother Joe owns Rancatore's ice cream in Belmont and Lexington. Belmont has a municipal power company, and the rates that Joe pays are much higher in Lexington. We disagree about how much chocolate to put in the ice cream and whether chocolate-covered cherry is a better flavor than cardamom pistachio, but we don't disagree about electric rates.

     The city of Cambridge should consider establishing a municipal electric company. There are powerful arguments to do so. We are constantly examining our costs, and the savings from municipal electric can be substantial. State reps. Alice Wolf and Tim Toomey both support enabling legislation, and we hope it is passed.

     We have also suffered service interruptions and billing confusion from NSTAR. One of our stores received $2,900 as the result of incorrect billing, a mistake that was corrected with the help of NSTAR employees. We were grateful for the help in recovering this money, but worry even more about our electric costs.

     GUS RANCATORE
     Toscanini's
     Main Street