I looked up some European studies and copied them off in order to take them with me to the Grain Belt Express Open House the evening of July 17, 2013 in Cameron, Missouri, at the Cameron Community Center.

When my husband and I entered the meeting it was immediately apparent that this was NOT an "open" house. My training as an ad designer had taught me a few lessons in different styles of propaganda and Grain Belt Express was clearly exercising the manipulation tactic called "The Delphi Technique." I had spent the night before with little sleep because of my concern over these lines and seeing this farce being perpetrated on my fellow townspeople didn't put me in a very good mood. I only wanted to know where I could protest. Since these slick Grain Belt con artists are trained to detect dissonance, my husband and I were immediately pulled aside to have our feathers unruffled.

I handed one of my sheets of articles about the health and safety hazards of HVDC power lines to our "helper" and with only a cursory glance at my papers, he immediately began to start telling us the wonders of this line and that there are no risks, blah, blah, blah...  Understanding that I would get NOWHERE with this talking mannequin, I left his little group in his mid-sentence and began handing out my printed literature to the other small groups in the room, and asking them to ask their facilitators about the information within the studies.

When I got to the back of the room, an armed man, wearing Grain Belt clothes, identified himself to my husband as a Cameron police officer. He grabbed my arm HARD and asked me what I was doing. I told him that he was holding me too hard and that he was hurting me. He released his grip slightly and asked me again what I was doing, to which I responded that I was sharing information with others about HVDC lines and their health effects. He told me that I was to stop doing that, to which I told him that I would not and that I was exercising my right to free speech. He then explained to me that that was not allowed here and I needed to leave immediately. When I argued with him he began dragging me out of the meeting. As he was doing this I shouted, "My free speech rights are being violated and if you want to know about the hazards of HVDC towers then READ THIS!" and I threw the papers across the room and onto the floor. (You should have seen the people scramble to read them.)

When this Grain Belt rent-a-cop got me outside he began verbally abusing me and telling me that I had NO FREE SPEECH RIGHTS HERE, and that if I did not leave by the time he counted to 5, then he would take me to the station for disorderly conduct. I left on his count of 4, but several people in the group came out of the meeting to argue with the cop. Free speech is supposed to be protected by our Constitution, according to folks here in the Midwest. Besides, I thought this was an informational meeting between landowners and Grain Belt Express. Not a Grain Belt infomercial.

...the companies "choked/came back in/ and said it's a deal ... only ask is completion of NEPA by Oct '12."

FINDINGS OF FACT
1. FirstEnergy recently acquired control of Mon Power and PE. Monongahela Power Company, et al., Case No. 10-0713-E-PC (Commission Order, December 16, 2010).
2. Certain FirstEnergy customers in West Virginia have received high bills which may be attributable to estimated OT average bills that may not have reasonably reflected historical usage and require further review.

1. Following the acquisition of Mon Power and PE in 2010, what changes, if any, to meter reading and customer billing has FirstEnergy implemented?
2. What data does FirstEnergy use to derive estimated or average bills?
3. To what extent has FirstEnergy reviewed or analyzed each current method of calculating estimated or averaged monthly bills of West Virginia customers after the acquisition of Mon Power and PE?
4. What was the effect of the severe storms in 2012 on how FirstEnergy calculated bills or its meter reading practices?
5. What is the total number of complaints received by First Energy from West Virginia customers about meter reading, estimated bills or average billing. Please provide a breakdown by complaint category.
6. What percentage of FirstEnergy customers in West Virginia had actual company employee meter readings (i) from one to five times per consecutive twelve month period, (ii) six times per consecutive twelve month period, (iii) more than six times per consecutive twelve month period over the last twenty-four consecutive months?
7. Did FirstEnergy maintain and incorporate historical billing data that pre-dated the merger into its calculation of estimated bills or average payment plans?
8. Describe in detail the manpower and equipment currently used to provide meter reading to Mon Power and PE customers and provide the same information for that activity prior to the FirstEnergy acquisition.
9. Describe in detail the manpower and equipment currently used to provide billing and customer service to Mon Power and PE customers and provide the same information for that activity prior to the FirstEnergy acquisition and after the FirstEnergy acquisition.
10. Describe the meter reading scheduling for Mon Power and PE, and describe the alternatives and options that are available to Mon Power and PE to reschedule or otherwise handle unexpected interruptions to normal meter reading schedules such as weather related incidents, unscheduled employee leave, transportation equipment failures or other such disruptive incidents.
11. Does FirstEnergy collect metrics regarding its customer service call center or other customer service contacts with ratepayers for any purpose including internal evaluations, planning and budgeting, or external reporting to other regulatory agencies? Provide a twenty-four month summary of each available customer service metric for all customers and separately for West Virginia customers along with a brief description of each metric.
12. What assistance does FirstEnergy provide to customers that receive large actual bills following a period of estimated bills?

The purpose of this general investigation is not to address individual customer bills directly. We recognize that considering the high level of formal and informal filings by individual customers to date, there may be a tendency for individuals to want to address their grievances in this proceeding. Each customer is entitled to specific evaluation of the particulars of individual billing and payment issues and such evaluation is best accomplished through the formal and informal review processes available for individual complaints. Customer-specific, formal and informal matters will continue to be resolved individually. This proceeding will focus on the practices, policies and procedures in place at Mon Power and PE and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses at a structural level.

We feel that the current billing problems are an unanticipated consequence of the company’s efforts to reduce expenses that can only be corrected by making sure that the company is being adequately funded to read meters with the frequency stipulated by the tariff.  This deficiency can only be remedied through a new base rate case. We also request that amounts necessary to read meters as required that were not spent by the company over the past two years be refunded to ratepayers, and that the Commission impose any and all fines, penalties and reprimands available under its authority consistent with its findings, among other relief measures.