Wait for Study on AES Plant

Re “Our Shoreline Is Worth Protecting,” Orange County Perspective, Feb. 4:

Your editorial is right on the mark about not hastily approving the 450-megawatt expansion at the AES power plant in Huntington Beach. There is no doubt that we are in an energy crisis, but approving this expansion that could further exacerbate the pulling of a sewage plume toward our shore with swimmers and surfers is not the answer.

Let’s wait until the UCI and Sanitation District study is concluded and gives us answers before we approve any expansion. In the meantime, to conserve large amounts of energy, may I suggest the following energy saving techniques: Government agencies and electric utility companies turn off every other street light along many of our over-illuminated boulevards. This is not a new idea. It was strategically and safely implemented in the late 1970s.

Residential consumers might want to replace their incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. Also, there are plug-in devices that reduce refrigerator electrical consumption. My electric bill dropped about 35% by doing so.

JOHN W. DE WITT

Huntington Beach