IS IT TRUE? December 6, 2010

8

The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE? December 6, 2010

IS IT TRUE that Henderson Municipal Power & Light is considering selling surplus power?…that HMP&L has hired a marketing consultant to help them find markets that are willing to pay them for that surplus power?….that the residential electric rate is 4.34 cents per KWh in the winter and 5.49 cents per KWh in the summer?….that Vectren’s recent application for a rate increase if approved will raise the rate charged to customers on the north side of the money saving bridge to 13.93 cents per KWh from the present price of 12.49 KWh?…..that Vectren charges 150% more for the same KWh than Henderson Municipal Power & Light charges?

IS IT TRUE that in the coming cold months if your electric bill in Evansville is $300 that across the money saving bridge the same bill would only be $104.24?…that if Vectren has its way with the State of Indiana and the rate increase is approved your $300 electric bill will increase to $334.59 yet in Henderson it will still cost $104.24?….that this difference in price would not even be possible in a free market?…that this is just a taste of what a legislated monopoly can cost?

IS IT TRUE that basic manufacturing consumes lots of electricity?…that if a business is considering both Henderson and Evansville for an expansion or a location for a factory that one of the biggest considerations is the cost of utilities?…that a business that has a moderate electric bill of $100,000 per month in Henderson could be socked with a $250,000 per month bill in Evansville?…that sometimes the power companies negotiate a lower rate for industrial customers?….that doing so is subsidizing businesses at the expense of residential customers?….that when people pay higher prices for electricity than businesses that is called “redistribution”?…that the difference in electrical rates is always a serious issue for the north side of the Ohio River when competing for jobs?

IS IT TRUE that according to the Competitiveness Redbook published by the National Association of Manufacturers that if SW Indiana were a state that it would have the 10th most expensive residential electric rates in the United States?…that Indiana as a state ranks a more affordable 39th at 7.83 cents per KWh and Kentucky ranks 45th with an even more affordable rate of 7.10 cents per KWh?

IS IT TRUE that Henderson Municipal Power and Light does not need a consultant to tell them how to sell surplus power?…that all HMP&L needs is a chance to sell it to us with no middle man in the deal?….that if Henderson Municipal Power and Light were allowed to sell power in Southwest Indiana at even a 20% premium to its Henderson rates that every home and business in Vanderburgh County would sign up at the first opportunity?

IS IT TRUE that there are now 706 days remaining in the two years that the EPA had given the City of Evansville to present an acceptable solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem?…..that this plan is an expensive and complex endeavor that needs immediate attention to avoid the embarrassment and expense of another round of fines?

IS IT TRUE that the agenda for the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has been amended and that the discussion regarding the bids on the Downtown Convention Hotel has been moved to next week?…that we anxiously await the reading of the proposals

References:
Henderson Residential Rate: http://www.hmpl.com/rates/rrate.php

Vectren Residential Rate: http://www.vectren.com/cms/assets/pdfs/bill_inserts/dec09_southEH_insert.pdf

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

8 COMMENTS

  2. Why has no one mentioned that Vectren is planning to build transmission lines to deliver electricity to Kentucky? There are to be 13 miles of line in Indiana, along the Ohio River, then cross and continue by building another 12 miles south into Kentucky? Is Vectren trying to raise the rates in Indiana to pay for those 13 miles, if not the entire 25 miles of transmission lines?

    If Henderson has surplus power, why aren’t they selling it in Kentucky, instead of Vectren building transmission lines there? Why would Vectren want to sell to a state that has low electric rates?

    Is this how selling “surplus” on the grid works? If there is a surplus, shouldn’t we be seeing lower electric rates?

    The farmers are not happy having these lines running across their fields. Who owns the land Vectren is planning to put the transmission towers on in Indiana?

  3. Is it true that Neil Ellerbrook is a great philanthropist and general society page denizen? Is it true that there is exactly nothing we can do about the disparity in rates between Evansville and Henderson? Is it true that we must hope another ice storm doesn’t take down the lines in Evansville as one did a couple of years ago and is it further true that the extra costs associated with the clean up and re-powerup are the subject of a Vectren attempt to pass them on to the consumer? Is it true that to listen to their paid spokesperson you’d think they are one of the most beneficent companies around?

    http://www.wfie.com/story/12466614/vectren-looking-to-raise-electric-rates?redirected=true

    Is it true that the ‘regulation’ attending monopolies is regulation in name only and is simply window dressing to allow the monopolies to continue gouging their captive consumer base? Is it true that Vectren executives will gladly point to the ample public forums as opportunity for the consumer to ‘be heard’? Is it true that these mean nothing?

    • There is nothing ‘in name only’ about the “regulation”. It is vast and very real.

      • The charade is vast and very real. Regulation of utilities looks good, that’s the way it must be.

        Is it true that I don’t think Ellerbrook or any one individual controls our utility rates?

        • Suggested CCO POLL:

          As far as public opinion forums go, which forum do you believe best listens, comprehends and acts in relation to public concerns expressed at meetings?
          – Evansville Visitor Bureau (discussing ball fields).
          – Evansville Consolidation Committee.
          – Public Vectren utility rate hearings.

          Or you could mix it up and also ask, which of those forums are more likely than not, pushing a foregone conclusion.

    • Make no mistake… Some people think in their heads that “regulation”, for regulation’s sake is always a positive societal event – i.e. progress.

      However, it’s somewhat ironic that for all the old Kentucky jokes about being more this or that… we sure look like fools on this topic.

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