what we should be doing is keeping the land and building public housing on it, thus returning a way, way bigger dividend to the taxpayers

This effectively turns part of your utility bill into a tax benefiting affordable housing. The problem is that, as a tax, it's more regressive than even sales tax.

David dear, it's not a claim. Fracked natural gas has wreaked havoc on the previously tried-and-true, wholesale hydro sales, and energy conservation requirements have taken their pound of flesh as well.

Of course, being a Shorelinian, your rates are higher because your city government imposes an additional few cents per kWH on the base rates, and they are financing the North City and Aurora underground projects on the citizen's electric bills.

As for surplus properties, this has been an issue for a long time. City Light once had something like 175 small substations throughout the service territory, mostly in residential areas. Starting in the 1960's, they consolidated into the dozen large substations they had now, and gradually decommissioned the smaller ones, leaving only a handful of parcels now. People have typically wanted them as "green space", and have chafed at the market value requirement. It will be interesting to see what the various neighborhoods will make of the prospect (or spectre) of "affordable" housing