Methinks Todd doth protest too much! :-)
Read Pam Kasey's article about the PSC's investigation of Potomac Edison.
Methinks Todd doth protest too much! :-)
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Delegate Stephen Skinner has delivered on the promise he made to all of you during the Citizens' Public Hearing on May 22.
Today, the WV Public Service Commission notified Delegate Skinner that it has determined, "...a general investigation should be initiated into the practices and procedures of both Potomac Edison Company and Monongahela Power Company as it relates to meter reading, billing and practices involving estimated bills." The Commission "...intends to issue its order initializing a general investigation next week." Please join me in thanking Delegates Skinner, Lawrence, and Espinosa, and Senators Unger and Snyder, and our Jefferson County Commissioners Widmyer, Manuel and Noland for swift and successful action. And thanks also to the NAACP, the Coalition for Reliable Power and the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club for organizing and hosting the Public Hearing, as well as thanks to every citizen who came out to the hearing, especially those who came forward to share their stories. There's still much more work to be done, but we can now pause to savor our first victory! A friend reports that someone claiming to be a Potomac Edison employee called up a morning radio talk show on WSHC today and ranted on the air about Potomac Edison customers who had complained about receiving inaccurate bills, calling them "deadbeats." Apparently nobody caught his name, or the number he was calling from, and WSHC doesn't record their shows for rebroadcast.
I didn't hear it myself because I was off doing radio on a different station this morning, but I don't doubt it happened. What I do doubt is that it actually was a Potomac Edison employee. Unfortunately for FirstEnergy, the rest of the listeners may not have been as skeptical. FirstEnergy's hole just keeps getting deeper in the eastern panhandle. Regulatory capture is the theory that regulators are often captured and controlled by the very industry they are charged with regulating in the public interest. When a regulatory agency acts as a revolving door for utility industry executives, familiarity and arrogance proliferates and leaves the public under served and holding the door. Sadly, it looks like FirstEnergy is keeping its PSC Chairman Michael Albert on a very short leash. The Commissioner has been openly disparaging the members of the public who dared express their thoughts on FirstEnergy's unwise plant transfer proposal that will raise their electric rates 6% and lock them into paying for the company's cast-off, aging, power generator for the next 30 years. But in lengthy opening remarks, Albert, a former utility company lawyer whose firm represents FirstEnergy, criticized what he said were inaccurate comments submitted to the PSC and reported by the media about the case. Albert did not provide any specific examples. And he continues his assault on the public by ridiculing the citizens who went to great trouble and expense to show up for the hearing and plead their case in person. Later, he said, "There was an awful lot of testimony (this morning, in the public portion), everybody said we can save the world by energy efficiency and demand response." What an arrogant and thoughtless comment! I really don't believe anyone actually mentioned "saving the world." The public simply wants to save itself from further unnecessary and poorly planned FirstEnergy rate increases. Obviously, Commissioner Albert isn't even capable of putting on his pleasant poker face and pretending to listen to the public he is sworn to serve. Commissioner Albert's decision appears to already be made. As for Chairman Albert: Not to place too much meaning on a small word choice, he spoke of the effect of the proposed transaction at the beginning of the hearing using "will" rather than "would." Thankfully, his 6-year term as Chairman of the Public Service Commission will be expiring next month and Governor Tomblin will be free to appoint someone who is interested in serving the public, instead of serving his former colleagues and possible future employers at FirstEnergy.
Remember FirstEnergy's little fib about being happy to keep Harrison if their proposed transfer from Allegheny Energy Supply to Mon Power/Potomac Edison isn't approved during the company's last quarterly earnings call? Dan Eggers - Credit Suisse: Just following up on Tony's comments and Leila's comments about Harrison. Can you just maybe help us understand how important it is you think at this point in time to move that asset over from a balance sheet perspective relative to a customer benefit perspective? And then given kind of the wide or the low bid made in the intervenor testimony, how important it is to take a lower price or accept a lower price to get this done relative to keep in at FES if the pricing doesn't makes sense? Keeping that "great asset" became a "great liability" yesterday when Credit Suisse's Eggers downgraded FirstEnergy's rating. I'm thinking that maybe Eggers wasn't convinced that Harrison really is a "great asset" after the results of PJM's latest RPM capacity auction were released on Friday (as if he ever really believed Tony the Trickster's silly bluster about keeping Harrison). Eggers took FirstEnergy at their word. If the company keeps its "great asset" it will continue to be unprofitable and drag down its balance sheet. However, if the company can successfully unload the cost of running the plant on its West Virginia regulated customers, it will improve the balance sheet. Credit Suisse noted, “We have liked FE shares over peers for some time, attracted to the large base of regulated utility earnings (73% of 2015) that to us better protected the rich 5.2% dividend yield as well as management's commitment to, and success in, finding ways to extract value from the generation business (FES) in spite of sustained weak power market conditions through the early adoption of Retail, aggressive O&M controls, and fleet management through plant closures and seasonal dispatch until unit economics improved. We still see FE striving to do these things but the ugly reality of the 2016/17 RPM auction results are hard to deny: poor discipline by incumbent generators in the face of depressed forwards and the crushing impact of newbuild capacity plus greater imports are all contributing to an oversupplied market that will inevitably leave energy and capacity prices weak. We are lowering FE to Neutral (from Outperform) - meaning performance in-line with peers - and a target of $40 (from $45) built from our sum-of-the-parts valuation methodology. We see downside from here in all of the Integrated power names as the long and uncertain path to a power market recovery forces investors to reconsider the multiples paid for commodity cyclical power generation assets.” PJM's auction results saw a sharp drop in prices for 2016-2017. This means that not only will it ultimately be cheaper for Mon Power and Potomac Edison to purchase needed capacity from the market rather than buy Harrison to supply needed capacity, but all that unneeded excess supply from Harrison that FirstEnergy is proposing that Mon Power/Potomac Edison buy is now worth less than ever as a source of income that would offset the cost of purchasing the plant. Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. took a hit on Tuesday after Dan Eggers, an analyst for Credit Suisse, downgraded the company's stock to “neutral” from “outperform.” FirstEnergy needs to unload their unprofitable Harrison power station on West Virginia electric consumers now more than ever. The transaction will cause an increase in your monthly bill of at least 6% over current rates. The Public Service Commission begins hearing the case today.
Will FirstEnergy be able to fool the PSC into believing that Harrison is "a great asset?" Or will the Commission face reality like Eggers did? It is imperative that you let the PSC know that you do not support the Harrison transfer. Click here to send your comments online quickly and easily. Simply select case 12-1571 from the drop down menu and type in your comments. Do it now! The West Virginia Public Service Commission demonstrated exactly where its loyalties lie on Wednesday when it failed to show up for a Citizens' Public Hearing about a monumental billing foul up on the part of regulated monopoly Potomac Edison. Instead, the PSC sent their regrets and a statement making excuses for the company. As Senator Herb Snyder thundered during his remarks, "That's not their job!" Potomac Edison also "respectfully declined" the invitation to participate without explanation. But then again, Potomac Edison doesn't need to explain itself when the PSC will gladly take one for the team. This lack of responsiveness on the part of Potomac Edison and the regulators who are supposed to be protecting consumers from this utility monopoly clearly shows why a Citizens' Public Hearing was warranted. More than 100 customers of Potomac Edison showed up for the hearing, and even though the guests of honor failed to make an appearance, state legislators, county commissioners, and a representative from U.S. Senator Manchin's office listened intently and sympathetically for more than two hours as a total of 26 citizens were heard. The panel of public officials were raptly attentive and clearly flabbergasted at the what they heard, as Potomac Edison customers clutching handfuls of outrageous bills begged for help. There were audible gasps from the audience as citizens shared the amounts of monthly bills they had received. And even in the face of such adversity, many speakers applied humor to their situation. One threatened to rip the electric meter off the side of his home and send it to the CEO of FirstEnergy C.O.D. to see if the huge bills for an empty house would finally stop. Others related stories about Potomac Edison's excuses for not reading meters that had the audience in stitches. (Loose dogs are a deterrent at a property where the meter reader regularly shares space with a bull -- "He's a really nice bull," said the property owner.) Although Potomac Edison's lack of concern has been intended to beat its customers into submission to step in line and pay the bill they are issued, the customers' spirit has not yet been broken. After every last citizen had been heard, the legislators took the podium, one by one, to pledge justice. Del. Tiffany Lawrence said that Potomac Edison has shown a "lack of decency." Del. Stephen Skinner characterized Potomac Edison as a "...monopoly with shoddy business practices." Sen. Herb Snyder shook his fist while pledging, "This starts tonight. We are going to make the Public Service Commission accountable." Sen. John Unger stated that after PATH, he thought FirstEnergy was "humbled in terms of how they treat people, but they have not learned their lesson." We will be meeting with the legislators to keep you up to date about how they are keeping their promises to all of you. The fight has just begun! Remember sniglets? A sniglet was described as "any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should." Well, here's a new one that has been struggling for several years now to be born.
Redaccident (re-dac-ci-dent) noun: an action committed by an attorney whereby he/she attempts to redact information from documents provided in discovery responses and fails to remove all occurrences of the redacted information in the provided document. Example: "The silly lawyer had another redaccident and provided the information that was supposed to be confidential." That's all. Go back to work. That's how Delegate Stephen Skinner characterized last night's Citizens' Public Hearing in Charles Town. Customer after customer came forward to share their own personal horror stories about recent experiences with Potomac Edison. And at least two of those who spoke went home to face another night without electric service because they were unable to pay inaccurate and outrageous bills amounting to more than $1000 each. Potomac Edison disconnected their service without warning. More than 100 people came out to the meeting, in spite of a torrential downpour, and five state legislators, three county commissioners and a representative from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin's office came to listen. Conspicuously absent from the gathering were Potomac Edison and the West Virginia Public Service Commission. After listening for nearly two hours, the panel showed real anger during their remarks, and most importantly, promised action. We will continue to work with our legislators to ensure that it happens. I've seen a whole lot of dubious and unethical actions on the part of FirstEnergy, Potomac Edison's corporate parent, over the past several years. But even those dirty, underhanded schemes paled in comparison to what I heard last night. FirstEnergy, you are truly despicable. Media links: Potomac Edison customers shocked in W.Va. Panhandle Local Residents Speaking to Officials About Electric Bills Charges Take WHAG's newest viewer poll: Have you been overcharged on an electric bill? Vote now! Power issues voiced by residents in Charles Town We have caused a huge stink at FirstEnergy. Remember Mr. Haney, the swindling neighborhood peddler from the 1960s TV show Green Acres? Haney, portrayed by veteran character actor and longtime Western film sidekick Pat Buttram with the distinctive, warbling voice, sold his family's ancient, dilapidated farm to Oliver when he and Lisa Douglas left New York City for rural Hooterville and their new life as farmers. In the process of the sale, Haney stripped the farm of everything of value down to the plumbing. Well, deja vu, dear readers. A new age Mr. Haney was peddling his wares to reporters at a "media event" in Fairmont yesterday. The media event was staged to draw attention away from all FirstEnergy's other problems and hopefully convince the public to support the company's flaccid proposal to sell the Harrison power station to itself for ONE BILLION DOLLARS! However, FirstEnergy's Mr. Haney is, shall we say, less than convincing? It looks like Mr. Haney doesn't even believe himself when he tells the few reporters in the audience that he can "control the future." Is that sort of like Todd's Magic Math? And speaking of our friend Todd... he's so boring and inconsequential that the reporter talks right over him. Even Mr. Haney smirks and makes faces when Todd talks. And the camera man found film of a reporter's digital recorder the most interesting thing at FirstEnergy's media event. Right. And in other news... a big rat named Tony tried to eat Morgantown this morning. The public's response to the Citizens' Public Hearing on Potomac Edison business practices to be held May 22, jointly sponsored by the Jefferson County NAACP, the WV Chapter of Sierra Club, and the Coalition for Reliable Power, has been overwhelming! Thousands of people have viewed and downloaded the meeting notice, nearly 500 people have "liked" and shared the notice on Facebook, numerous organizations and local governments have disseminated the meeting notice to thousands more, and meeting notice fliers are popping up all over the tri-state! And, something truly amazing (but completely expected) is happening -- people from diverse backgrounds are coming together to talk about electricity issues, volunteer their time, and to speak with one voice! We heard many horror stories last week while out and about spreading the word. We have made many more connections through emails, social media, phone calls and comments on this blog. Particularly tragic was the story of a customer relying on a ventilator who was told to pay up on the more than $1000 monthly bill his family received, or Potomac Edison would shut off his service. Meanwhile, Potomac Edison's parent company is proposing to compensate its CEO at a rate of more than $23M per year. What's wrong with this picture? The investigation of Potomac Edison's billing and meter reading practices in Maryland begins today. The "legal housekeeping" described by Potomac Edison spokesman Todd Meyers in the article is actually the company's effort to prohibit participation in the case by the individual customers who originally brought the complaint last year. Potomac Edison would much rather deal directly with state agencies and not have to dirty its hands consorting with the hoi polloi. Meyers said that most of the company’s past problems with the meter readers are “in the rearview mirror.” Todd's story pales in comparison to all the stories I have heard from disgruntled Potomac Edison customers lately, who continue to receive outrageous bills they cannot pay. Despite Todd's insistence, all the problems are not "in the rearview mirror." That's merely how it looks to Todd as he's driving away from the hit and run that monthly Potomac Edison bills have become. The problems continue. We'd also like to hear Potomac Edison's side of the story about its proposal to purchase a 40-year old power generator from one of its affiliates at an inflated price that will translate into another 6% rate hike. We will be presenting a brief overview of the issue and asking the meeting participants to let the PSC know what they think about the proposal. Potomac Edison continues to make the same old excuses and insist that the problems have been fixed, but the community says that's just not true. Please join us this Wednesday night, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. at Wright Denny Intermediate school in Charles Town. Doors open at 6:30 and we will have information stations and handouts available. We ask that attendees bring along a copy of their most recent Potomac Edison bill for reference in filling out our survey about billing issues. Data collected will be used to develop statistics for use in illustrating the widespread nature of the problem for the Public Service Commission. We hope you will attend and add your voice to our call for the WV PSC to open its own investigation of Potomac Edison's practices. We the people will not be denied! We have invited your elected officials, both state and local, as well as representatives of the PSC, the Consumer Advocate, and Potomac Edison, to come and listen to your concerns and demonstrate that they actually care about you and are not merely providing lip service while posturing for the press. Electric utilities continually play a divide and conquer game with their customers. The company prefers to deal with each customer individually, where the customer may be at a disadvantage due to lack of knowledge about electric rates and tariffs and a feeling of isolation. "We take our billing process very seriously," said Gilliam. "It's also personal and private. The conversation is between a customer service rep and the customer." It's much easier to blow us off, one by one. Potomac Edison's greatest fear is that its customers may unite and rise as one. See you all on Wednesday!
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About the Author Keryn Newman blogs here at StopPATH WV about energy issues, transmission policy, misguided regulation, our greedy energy companies and their corporate spin.
In 2008, AEP & Allegheny Energy's PATH joint venture used their transmission line routing etch-a-sketch to draw a 765kV line across the street from her house. Oooops! And the rest is history. About
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