In the meantime, there’s still some people out there getting hit with high bills that they can’t afford.

“When we received the bill, I was like 'What has happened? I don’t understand this,'” said Carol Armstrong.

Armstrong requested three years worth of her energy bills after she got hit with an over $3,000 bill. She found out they had estimated her bill for three years except for twice: the month she moved into her house, and the month they charged her over $3,000.

Initially, Consumers Energy told Armstrong she would have to pay an additional $438 to each bill until it was paid off.

“They say it like it’s nothing. I told them well you say that like it’s nothing, but let me ask you question. If you went to your house today and opened your mailbox, and you had a bill in there like that, how would you feel? She said 'I wouldn’t be able to pay it,'” said Armstrong.

That’s when Armstrong contacted the Michigan Public Service Commission who told her she actually had three years to pay it back, the same amount of time they estimated her electric usage.

The JEFFERSON FORUM will hold its monthly meeting  on         

17 October 2015    0830 AM to   1100 A M
Mountain View Diner
901 East Washington Street
Charles Town, WV 25414

Our primary topic will be to discuss the proposed rate increase as filed 14 August 2015 before the WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION by POTOMAC EDISON and MONONGAHELA POWER. The issues to discuss involve the impact of this rate increase since it follows closely upon the rate increase which took effect in April 2015. The primary reason given for this increase appears to be increased fuel costs.

Since the consuming public is given no voice before the WV Public Service Commission, save for an overworked, under funded, understaffed Consumer Advocate Office, it is not unreasonable to request that the Utility Companies offer reasonable explanations for such demands.
             
We  require civility and courtesy at THE JEFFERSON FORUM, and every effort is made to assure that every person is allowed to be heard.

Danny Lutz
MODERATOR
THE JEFFERSON FORUM

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the Jefferson County Forum on Oct. 17. Unfortunately, since the issues you wish to discuss are pending before the WV Public Service Commission, I cordially decline your invitation.

Testimony  regarding the recovery of our fuel costs will be accepted by the Commission on Nov. 19th  & 20th at their office in Charleston. Please feel free to attend those hearings.

No date has been set for the hearing on the Vegetation Management filing.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General has given a big thumbs-up to the way FERC's Office of Enforcement is conducting its investigations.

"Based on our review, nothing came to our attention to indicate that [Office of Enforcement] had not performed enforcement activities in accordance with relevant policies and procedures," the inspector general said in a special report.

However, one of FERC's biggest critics in that regard assailed the inspector general for focusing on whether FERC complies with its own policies without discussing whether those policies are flawed or violate due process in the first place.

"That takes damning with faint praise to new heights," William Scherman, a former FERC general counsel and partner with the firm Gibson Dunn, said in an interview. The lawyer also said the inspector general appears to be inviting Congress to address the problem, "and hopefully they will" in the energy bills moving thru the Legislature.

7 closed investigations, 20 closed hotline cases, and 10 closed cases regarding potential violations, which had been self-reported by regulated entities.

Also, we specifically evaluated an allegation that the settlement of an enforcement action involving Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Inc., (Constellation) was inappropriately linked to a then-pending request for a merger between Constellation and the Exelon Corporation (Exelon). Specifically, the Senators expressed their concern that Constellation's agreement to settle the enforcement action was provided in exchange for FERC's approval of the merger (referred to as quid pro quo).

We found that that the Constellation-Exelon merger was specifically mentioned in the terms of the FERC/Constellation settlement agreement. Further, we determined that even before the merger was approved, Exelon executives were directly involved in the settlement negotiations. Finally, we note that the approval of the merger by FERC and the consummation of the enforcement settlement agreement took place on the same day. The lingering question was whether these actions represented an inappropriate quid pro quo. While these actions may have raised understandable concerns, the evidence did not support such a conclusion. In fact, we found that Exelon had specifically asked for language in the settlement agreement that linked the effective date of the settlement with the effective date of FERC's approval of its merger with Constellation.

In addition to the issues we specifically evaluated, there were several that we were unable to review. Those concerns related to what was essentially the basic fairness of FERC's enforcement authority/processes. We concluded that these matters were public policy questions which, as important as they may be, are best addressed by policy makers and as such, were outside the purview of the OIG.

NERC has filed a settlement for your  [Commission] review and approval in NP15-31 regarding Entergy. The settlement
involves six separate violations for two reliability standard requirements. The total penalty is $55,000. These violations had durations of multiple years.

This violation is classified as Medium/Moderate on the VRF/VSL Table, which would associate to a base penalty range of $4,000 to $100,000 pursuant to Appendix A of NERC ROP App 4B.

By my math, that is eight years and twelve days, or 2,934 days. Therefore, the base range should be $11,736,0004 to $293,400,000.

Gov. Mike Pence took a quick trip to New York City this week with a "delegation of Hoosier business leaders and economic development professionals" in an effort to coax businesses to relocate to Indiana to escape the "high-tax metropolitan area."

Oddly, the only business leaders from Indiana who accompanied Pence and eight economic development staff folks on the trip are all executives at public utility companies.

IEDC staff posted pictures of Pence in a corporate suite at a New York Yankees game where the home team was taking on the Boston Red Sox.

Donors have paid for Gov. Mike Pence to travel overseas, rent luxury sports suites, lobby lawmakers and fly to Iowa ahead of its first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest.

The list reveals that more than 50 companies, trade groups and governmental entities contributed $2.19 million to the foundation from January 2014 to June 2015.

The majority of that money — about $1.7 million — came from utility companies. Duke Energy and its foundation gave the most — more than $456,000. Other contributors included lobbying firms, industry groups, regional economic development agencies, universities and large Indianapolis companies such as Eli Lilly and Co. and Dow Agro Sciences.

"We continuously seek donations for the foundation to support our business development efforts," said Indiana Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Abby Gras. "As you can see, there are a number of donors from economic development groups to businesses who donate to the foundation. I can't speak for those donors, but I imagine they donate because they see the value of the state's economic development efforts and support the continued growth of business and job creation in Indiana."

"It creates another opportunity, for example, with utility companies, which are heavily regulated at the state level, whose profits are really dependent on how they are treated by state government, it gives them the opportunity again to build relationships to be seen more as friends than somebody who needs some careful watching," said Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana.

Executives from the same companies that fund the trade missions often accompany Pence on those trips, providing valuable access to the state's top executive.

"What they are effectively doing is looking for business, and so what we have as a result are policies at the administration level and the legislative level that favor the utility business plan, which isn't necessarily in the interest of the public," said Kerwin Olson, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition.

The foundation's funds have even been utilized for lobbying efforts.

Since November, the Pence administration has spent at least $2,950 on a website to promote his $84 million "regional cities" initiative, which is intended to boost economic development across the state by leveraging private investment. During this year's legislative session, when lawmakers threatened to reduce the amount Pence was seeking, the website criticized his fellow Republican lawmakers and urged people to "TAKE ACTION!" by sending a form letter to their legislators.

Foundation money also was used to purchase gift bags for 25 key lawmakers. The bags included letters of support for the initiative from local mayors and a magnetic paperweight with paper-clip men.

Indiana Michigan Power $424,000

Duke Energy $381,654

Vectren $267,150

Northern Indiana Public Service Company $260,000

Indianapolis Power & Light $157,500

Duke Energy Foundation $75,000

NIPSCO $50,000

Hoosier Energy $37,500

Indiana Municipal Power Agency $28,883

American Electric Power $10,000

"Economic development benefits everyone," said Brian Bergsma, director of communications and government affairs for Indiana Michigan Power. "Job creation creates better streets, better schools, better economic opportunities for everyone."

Duke Energy spokesman Lew Middleton said the company has an ongoing relationship with the IEDC, where it meets with state economic development officials on a regular basis.

"We do hope to attract new businesses to our service area," Middleton said, "and at the same time, then be able to increase the number of jobs in any given community where a business might be thinking about locating. It sort of helps raise the quality of life for all the citizens in a particular community when new jobs come to the area."

But that effort was criticized by the Consumer Advocates Division, which said the move set a bad precedent and weakened the traditional rate making policies of the PSC, where nearly all facets of a utility’s business were considered in a single rate case.

At that time, Jackie Roberts, the CAD director, said allowing electric companies to assess additional surcharges to customers’ bills for tree trimming programs was just the most recent step in a trend toward companies filing a number of smaller rate cases.

According First Energy’s testimony, the company is expected to receive an 8.19 percent return on the cash expenditures under the program before taxes.

In these cases, Roberts said the commission needs to weigh what is needed for the utility to provide safe and reliable service against the customers interest in having reasonable rates.

“On its face, it certainly appears this filing would fail that test,” she said.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has no plan to appoint a third member to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, even though several people have expressed interest in the position or recommended others they believe would fit the post.

Emails and communications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that numerous people have contacted the Governor’s Office since January, asking Tomblin to confirm them for the post or to consider their preferred candidates.

The list of people seeking the governor’s attention include a former state senator, a city mayor, a retired engineer, a member of the state’s rural water association, a managing member at one of Charleston’s largest law firms and a lobbyist for First Energy, the parent company of MonPower and Potomac Edison, two of the state’s largest electric utilities.

An undated note left for the governor shows that Sammy Gray, the state affairs director and a registered lobbyist for First Energy, called to recommend two people for the commission spot. According to the note, Gray called to let Tomblin know that he supported Mike Castle, the Department of Environmental Protection’s director under Gov. Cecil Underwood, and Sam Cann, a former Democratic state senator from Harrison County, for the seat.

When contacted about his recommendations, Gray sent the request for an interview on to communication officials at First Energy.

“We believe both individuals possess solid experience with policy and energy matters that would help them make rulings in complex regulatory cases,” Todd Meyers, MonPower and Potomac Edison’s external communications manager, wrote in an email response. “Of course, the ultimate decision on who is appointed rests solely with the governor.”

First Energy’s recommendation of candidates for a utility commission, which ultimately regulates the company, is not out of the ordinary, according to Meyers.

“In the past, we have recommended individuals whom we believe to be qualified candidates for similar positions, both in West Virginia and elsewhere in our service territory,” Meyers wrote. “Again, others ultimately make the decisions on who is selected.”

In an email from April, Michael Basile, a managing member at Spilman Thomas & Battle, a Charleston law firm that represents clients like the West Virginia Energy Users Group in front of the PSC, asked the governor to consider attorney Susan Basile, his wife.

In the 1990s, Michael Basile worked for Gov. Gaston Capterton, the Attorney General’s Office, the West Virginia Development Office and later assisted in the transitions of Gov. Bob Wise and Gov. Joe Manchin. Basile, who has served as chairman of the Charleston Area Alliance and the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce, also is a registered lobbyist at the state capitol, where he has represented companies like DuPont, Chevron, Chesapeake Energy, DIRECTV and Dish Network.

In his email, Basile credited his wife’s qualifications and said she was a “big fan/supporter of GERT,” apparently referencing an acronym for Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.

Amy Swann, director of the West Virginia Rural Water Association, suggested the governor should consider one of her longtime colleagues and former PSC employee, Dina Foster.

Swann said Foster — now the manager of the Pea Ridge Public Service District, in Cabell County — has first-hand experience in utility issues and has the personal characteristics needed to make a good commissioner. With so many important issues being decided by the PSC, Swann said, Foster would be a valuable addition to the commission.

When Bill Wooten, a former Democratic state senator from Raleigh County, contacted the Governor’s Office earlier this year, he was hopeful he would be appointed.

With his experience in utility regulation from a legal and legislative policy perspective, Wooten thought he was qualified for the position, and he believed in his ability to weigh the needs of utility companies and their customers.

John Manchester, the mayor of Lewisburg, also submitted his credentials for consideration.

Manchester, who previously worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority and has dealt with utility regulation as Lewisburg’s mayor, said his experience has prepared him for the position.

“I pride myself on being a mediator, a man who tries to find solutions to issues,” Manchester said.

Allan Tweddle, a resident of Kanawha City and a semi-retired engineer, put his name in after having several people ask him to apply.

In his communications with the Governor’s Office, Tweddle listed a long list of people who could testify to his “commitment” and “open-mindedness.” While Tweddle worked with Southern California Edison, an electric utility on the West Coast during his career, he said he has absolutely no connection to any regulated utility in the state.

“We urge you to appoint a new commissioner as quickly as possible so that this investigation can be resolved,” Cathy Kunkel, a member of the Advocates for a Safe Water System’s steering committee, wrote in a letter to the governor in April. “Furthermore, we hope that anyone you appoint to the Public Service Commission will have experience in utility regulation and be independent of West Virginia’s major utility interests.”

"While the utilities are experts at running their business, it doesn’t always mean that they are right,”  said Jacqueline Roberts, director of the consumer advocate division.

“It’s an annual true-up, and it is to cover the cost of fuel and purchased power,” PSC spokeswoman Susan Small said. “There’s not profit for the company. It’s not going to staff salaries. It’s not operations and maintenance fees. It doesn’t go to rent and pension plans or anything like that.”

FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Meyers said the $165 million increase proposed in the Aug. 14 filing is largely the result of lower-than-expected wholesale electric prices over the past year.
Meyers noted the current rates were set partly based on projections of what amount of revenue the utility would be able to pass on to customers as a result of selling the excess electricity generated at its power plants.
“When we set the rates ahead of time based on where we think power prices are going to be, and then power prices aren’t there, we’ve already built in what we project the net benefit of sales to come back to customers will be. That’s built into the rates as they stand,” Meyers said. “That’s why the lower sales then really have an effect in the next true-up.”

Meyers said the Harrison Power transaction was never meant to be evaluated on the basis of a single year, but over the entire projected life of the plant. Prices can change year to year, sometimes in unforeseen ways, he said.
“We’re never looking at things to be a benefit to customers at one particular snapshot in time. We’re looking at what the best-case scenario is over time,” Meyers said. “You just don’t know what’s going to come around the corner, and we thought that having our whole strategy dependent on market purchases, then you’re really at the mercy of the market.

While recent case filings may create the impression that FirstEnergy has continued to seek rate increases, Meyers noted that there have also been decreases, such as the 5 percent rate decrease resulting from the 2012 ENEC filing.

At that time — roughly a year before the Harrison Power transaction was approved — the companies cited lower fuel and wholesale electric costs as reasons for the decrease.
“The perception that we keep raising the rates lately — that perception may be true — but there’s also times that we lower the rates, and people forget about the downswings,” Meyers said. “I wouldn’t call it a pattern. Every year, it’s a different look based on different circumstances.”

Cathy Kunkel, a fellow with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis who testified against the Harrison Power transaction, said the PSC’s 2013 decision has a direct correlation to the scope of the proposed ENEC increase.
Had the transaction never occurred, Mon Power and Potomac Edison would have purchased more electricity from the market than what they generated at the power plants under their control. This means ratepayers would have directly benefited from the low wholesale electric rates during the current ENEC review period, Kunkel said.
“One of the fundamental things we were saying at the time is the transaction was about risk, and it was about shifting risk from shareholders to ratepayers. And whether or not the risk actually materializes, it was still a shift of that risk,” Kunkel said. “And I think now we’re seeing the risk has materialized, and we’re seeing it in this rate increase.”
In recent years, wholesale electric rates have been driven down by low-cost natural gas, Kunkel said. But with a lack of fuel diversity in Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s generation fleet, West Virginia ratepayers haven’t seen as much benefit from this downward pressure on the wholesale electric market, she said.
The Harrison Power Station is one example of a larger strategy that FirstEnergy has adopted in recent years of moving more of its largely coal-fired generation fleet into regulated markets where the company is able to pass on more costs to ratepayers, according to Kunkel.
“I think the big picture is we’re just seeing coal less competitive in the marketplace than it used to be, and ratepayers are paying the difference, because Mon Power has invested so heavily in coal,” Kunkel said. “No one can say what the power prices are going to be, but it looks like a bad deal at least in the short run. It’s a high-risk investment for ratepayers. Let’s put it that way.”

“We are very concerned about the level of rate relief the company’s requesting,” Jackie Roberts, executive director of the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division, said. “We are in the process of evaluating the filing to understand what drives their cost request.
“This is a very large rate increase following on the heels of other large rate increases, and we will be carefully scrutinizing this case.”