IS IT TRUE? November 15, 2011

IS IT TRUE that last night’s meeting of the Evansville City Council was the night for Vectren to state their cases for who they are, what they do, and why they do it here?…that the president and CEO of Vectren Mr. Carl Chapman opened the much anticipated “Friendquisition” with a long but very well done presentation that addressed all of the humanitarian, charitable, and other community partnering that Vectren does with local entities?…that we also were told how many employees Vectren has in their Evansville headquarters, how many taxes they pay, and how much the culture of Vectren is adding to life here in SW Indiana?…that the one very clear thing from the first 90% of the presentation was that Mr. Chapman is an excellent speaker and has the benefit of a superb staff to help prepare him to speak before something as small as the Evansville City Council or as large as the board of directors of a Wall Street investment firm?…that Mr. Chapman is the CEO of a NYSE company and is expected to have these skills?…that seeing some members of the City Council sit there listening with blank looks upon their faces clearly emphasized that when it comes to presentations skills and technical depth that most of the Evansville City Council is no match for Carl Chapman?

IS IT TRUE that one member of the City Council that seemed to follow Mr. Chapman’s presentation with respect to electricity rates and the dense pack proposal was Councilman John Friend, CPA who expressed that he had some experience working with utilities?…that the dense pack project that stirred this whole mess up seems to simply be the straw that broke the camel’s back because the words “rate increase” were associated with it?…that after many corrections and clarifications that particular project seems to be positive for the ratepayers?…that it was nice to hear Mr. Chapman use the term customers as opposed to the more commonly used term ratepayers which makes us customers seem more like mules than customers?

IS IT TRUE that Councilman Friend brought up two valid points regarding the fact that the rates that Evansville customers pay the highest rates in the State of Indiana and roughly triple what is paid across the river in Henderson?…that we understand that Vectren has gotten ahead of the EPA curve and that our rates were approved by the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission based upon Vectren’s requests and investments?…that the CCO and Councilman Friend do not think that Vectren is crooked, we just know that they are very expensive?…that Councilman Friend referred to a recent article from the Louisville Courier Journal where it was stated that Kentucky Utilities (KU) will see a rate increase of 11.2% to a level of $0.0747 per kWh by the year 2016 due to the investments that they will be making to meet EPA standards?…that if that is true that our friends who are on KU will reach attainment by 2016 and will still be paying HALF OF WHAT VECTREN CHARGES TODAY?…that Mr. Chapman’s response to Councilman Friend’s question was that the article was not correct?…that sort of put that argument on hold?

IS IT TRUE that on page 5 of the “Rates and Terms” public document obtained from the KU website that the rate for residential service is stated right now to be $0.06719 per kWh with a monthly connection fee of $8.50?…that if one calculates the increase to reach the number of $0.0747 that it is indeed 11.2% giving credence to the Courier Journal report?…that if we are to believe both the Courier Journal and the official KU rate sheet that it would support exactly what Councilman Friend stated?…that this is a point that deserves more attention at the November 28th meeting because Councilman Friend and Mr. Chapman seem to be at odds over the facts?…that a link to the KU rate sheet is provided below?

https://city-countyobserver.com/2011/11/15/kentucky-utilities-electric-rate-disclosure-document/

IS IT TRUE that another issue that was brought up by Councilman Friend that was clearly understood by Mr. Chapman is the fact that 27 Governors have filed lawsuits against the EPA to relax the requirements?…that if the standards are relaxed and other areas are let off the hook for making the huge investments that Vectren has already made that SW Indiana could be stranded as an island of excessive electricity costs for a long time?…that this will serve as a deterrent to economic development projects that are power hungry?…that in the presentation no successful attraction projects that have been brought into Evansville in recent history are large users of electricity?…that there are several documented cases of small businesses leaving Evansville for Henderson to get cheaper power?

IS IT TRUE that Councilman Friend also brought up the issue of the value of carbon credits and how their value affects ratepayers?…that no real answer with dollars attached to it came from Mr. Chapman on this topic?…that Councilman Friend may be onto something of interest with respect to carbon credits as he has had several discussions in the past with Vectren officials and others and has gotten several different answers?…that we encourage the Evansville City Council to cancel their meeting that is scheduled for November 28th at 5:30 and conflicts with the IURC meeting that will be at the Centre at the exact same time?