I find the commentary by Roy Mathews in Saturday’s paper to be disingenuously shortsighted (“Misguided rate increases ignore Maine ratepayers, clean energy developers”).

It was this “cheaper is always better” mindset that steered the entire Industrial Revolution onto coal and other fossil fuels. It was willful ignorance of the rising effects on the planet that kept us on that track for decades past where changeover would have been timely — and far less expensive in the long run.

What must be done is a complete sea change in how we create, distribute, and utilize the power we need to support our communities. If you are so concerned about the rising costs of basic utilities, then you should be even more concerned about the rising costs of residential and commercial insurance brought on by the impacts of climate change.

For utilities and insurance, moving where rates are cheapest will only guarantee you the poorest resilience and lowest coverage against the coming storms, both literal and allegorical. There has never been, and will never be, a “free lunch.” I am retired and have a rather fixed income, but given the choice between building cheaper and building better, I will find a way to support what makes a better tomorrow for my children and grandchildren.

John Seksay

Augusta