Ratepayers should be considered stakeholders 

Herald and News Letter to the Editor October 13, 2009 by George Warner, Klamath Falls

Regarding the so-called Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement: Who is responsible for the definition of “stakeholder” as used by the Herald and News?

Webster’s New 20th Century Dictionary, Second Edition, page 1769, defines stakeholder as one who holds stakes when a wager is made by others and pays it to the winner.

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 5th Edition, page 969 defines a stakeholder as the holder of a wager.

So it can be assumed that in non-business usage a stakeholder is connected with some kind of gambling.

Now according to BusinessDictionary.com’s definition, a stakeholder is a “Person, group or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organization’s actions, objectives, and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors ...etc. and the community from which the business draws its resources.”

It is obvious that ratepayers are customers of Pacific Power and, according to your paper, may be required to pay some $200 million for dam removal. That fact alone requires all customers of Pacific Power to be included as “stakeholders.”

When do we get to be involved in the decision making?