DELMARVA ‘S RATE HIKE REQUEST: IGNORANCE OR ARROGANCE?

As I stood with Senator Pipkin, Delegate Sossi, and my Chief of Staff, Andi Morony, last Thursday night at Chesapeake College I could not help but question why this large room was completely empty.

Where were the citizens who have been lining up at tea parties and town hall meetings to tell government officials that they are being taxed to no end? Where were those who have been telling their public officials that they are fed up with Cap and Trade, Stimulus Packages, Nationalized Health Care Plans and local, County, State and Federal taxes, that too many of us are unemployed, over taxed and taken for granted by those continuously imposing new bailout obligations upon us?

It turns out that Delmarva published a notice that failed to include the small detail which would have notified the public that they were in fact seeking a rate hike increase.

The Public Service Commission notice has a Case Caption at the top of the top of  the “NOTICE OF EVENING HEARINGS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT’ which reads as follows:  “In the Matter of  the Application of Delmarva Power & Light Company for an Increase in its Retail Rates for the Distribution of Electric Energy”

I will not speculate as to why this most important part of the public notice was left out of the published notice regarding the hearings being held on October 13, in Chestertown, October 14th in Salisbury and October 15, at Wye Mills.   I will tell you what the effect was.   No one knew that public hearings were being held to elicit from the public their opinion on the proposed 14 million dollar, 2.6% rate hike for the average family.

After receiving a call from a constituent upset that the Kent County hearing was held with only one citizen in attendance because the public notice only cited to a public hearing regarding ”The Parties of Record and Interested Persons in Case No. 9192, I made arrangements to attend the next nights hearing at Chesapeake College.

I pointed out that the published notice had been defective and asked whether I needed to submit legislation to require notification at the top of every published hearing notice which indicates a rate hike is being sought. I was assured that the legislation would not be necessary and told that the  language telling of the purpose for the hearing should have been included and would be in the future.  I responded that, while I am happy that such notices will be included in the future, it was not included this time and therefore I would like the hearings to be republished and re-held.  I was told the PSC would look into the matter.  So will I.

As to the request for the rate hike, I argued that Delmarva was either ignorant of the dire economic straights that people are suffering through or they are just arrogant in ignoring the financial realities of  families on the eastern shore.

When Delmarva received their last rate hike in 2007 the price of oil was about 160 dollars a barrel. Today it is just about 70. If anything we should be seeking a rate reduction.

I ended my testimony by explaining that while I am a free market, capitalist, thier actions are making me a re-regulation supporter.  They need to remember they have a monopoly, they have no competition, the same rules do not apply to public regulated monopolies which apply to private corporations.

I meet with folks from the eastern shore on a daily basis who are unemployed, over taxed by the local, county, state and federal governments and hit with fees for various activities which used to be free or relatively cheap.  People are having to make decisions on whether to pay the mortgage, buy groceries or pay their insurance bills.

We can not afford to continue to be nickle and dimed to death by government or monopolistic utility companies.  The families I represent are dieing a death of a thousand cuts.

If you have an opinion about the proposed rate hike please share with me and I will see that the PSC hears about your concerns.  You should also contact the PSC directly at 1800-492-0474 and let them know you would like to see the hearings for the proposed rate hike republished (correctly this time) and to re-hold the hearings so that citizens may actually have an opportunity to participate in the process.

Here is concise language that the PSC wrote that they COULD have used in the ad and didn't.

The actual advertisement the Public Safety Commission ran. Note that it has no mention of what the hearing is about.