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WANT TO SCREW WITH ALLIANT?

What’s going on with the sudden need to move the Alliant electric transferring station, currently located in the center of town quietly next to the city’s municipal building?  All of a sudden, right after the acquisition of the Hillmoor property, everyone comes running to put something on that wonderful and critical plot of land.  Golf course supporters rush in, along with the YMCA, kayak operations for the White River, or what was the White River before the current draught, and now Alliant Energy Company.

After all these very gently years of humming electricity networked from that downtown building Alliant has to move and they have to move quickly.  After three presentations and all sorts of expense and plans submitted by Alliant there is no answer to the timing of ‘right now’ or sooner question.  The part of Hillmoor that Alliant wants is right back there behind the school near the current skateboard park. That’s a part of Hillmoor that’s close enough to the old nexus station by the municipal building (so the company doesn’t have to buy homes to run huge lines to support something independent of the old center) and yet on a part of the land invisible to most people.

 One of the problems is special (and this is pretty much a secret, but Lake Geneva’s Mayor Mayor wants that part of Hillmoor to be the entrance for the property when she makes it all into one big park).  The city council basically took the matter under advisement and kicked the can a bit down the road at the last city council meeting.  There will be another meeting at which a final vote will be taken.  The Mayor Mayor’s puppy dog ‘alderthing’ Joanie the Diner voted for Alliant to be allowed to have the property, but that’s likely a set up for the coming vote.  If Alliant loses its chance to build a new transfer station and has to remain where it is, which Alliant says can’t handle any more growth, then what will be accomplished.

Well, as Admiral Yamamomo was rumored to say, as he surveyed the success of his attack on Pearl Harbor: “all we may have accomplished is to awaken a sleeping giant.” Indeed, and in spades, that was the exact result of the attack on Pearl Harbor and this kind of analogical thinking needs to take place right now.

Does little, tiny Lake Geneva really want to take on Alliant Energy?

Revenue of Alliant in 2022 was something over $4,000,000,000 while Lake Geneva took in about $12,000,000.  That’s four billion standing to take on twelve million, in the ring for some sort of boxing contest.  What might Alliant do?  Probably whatever it wants to make a more convincing argument that it wants what it wants or needs what it needs.  Lake Geneva’s city attorney is going to stand in court with his right middle finger raised up against the descent of a hundred-thousand-pound diving eagle.  So far, Alliant has been nice and easy, as Tina Turner mentioned in her musical lyrics of the song Proud Mary.  Alliant has full capability to play nice and rough, as well, of course.  Just how many power outages, all quite explainable, since Lake Geneva has no control over the transmission into the Lake Geneva area of electricity (Alliant is a monopoly locally).  What if outages, blamed on the failing current nexus center began to blanket the Lake Geneva area?  Alliant is never going to admit or even affirm such a rumor, of course.

That’s the job of the Geneva Shore Report.  Think about it and maybe the current leadership of the town, damaged as it is (and it is really damaged) might do well that soon their terms will be over and they’ll be back living among all the people again, quite possibly in the dark without air conditioning or heat.