(Article changed on June 25, 2013 at 08:59)
Poorly
performing utility company Delmarva Power has made another application to the
Maryland Public Service Commission to raise its distribution charges yet again.
Public
comments and submissions are currently being invited from consumers in a series
of forums to be held across the state. Customers will have an opportunity to tell
regulators about the second-rate service & unjustifiably high charges which
subsidizes the corporate greed which nickel & dimes consumers trapped in a
captive market.
Comparing
electricity bills from 2007 with those of today reveals an outrageous track
record of price gouging :-
* The
Customer Charges have almost doubled -- up over 96%
* The
Distribution Charges have been raised by nearly 14%
* The
Administrative Credit, which actually gives money back to the consumer, has
been reduced by over 64%
* Overall
charges for distribution have gone up by over 40%
Consumers
are dismayed at distribution rate rises of this magnitude. No small businesses in
In
addition, Delmarva's customers have long been forced to put up with a
lamentably unreliable & inconstant power supply service which compares
unfavorably with some
And as
if that isn't galling enough there is now also an Em Power MD Charge which was
non-existent in 2007. This was introduced by the State Government to pay for
initiatives to reduce energy demand via the introduction of energy efficiency
& conservation programs. Despite the help provided by the tailwinds of an
economic slump & generally milder winters, Delmarva Power is failing to
meet either the government's or its own (anaemic - 30% less demanding) targets.
The report "Falling behind in energy efficiency' revealed that Delmarva was the
worst performing utility company in the state, set to miss its target for energy
efficiency by a whopping 68%, plus a further 59% shortfall in the target for
peak demand reduction. Failure to meet these goals means fewer jobs created,
increased threats to viability/stability of the entire system, and poorer
health & environmental outcomes.
Electricity
consumers are now being asked to fork out yet more money for another round of
increased delivery charges. Disgruntled customers are asking why the power
company Chief Executive, Joseph M.Rigby isn't taking a cut in his excessive $11
million annual salary & compensation package? And why shareholders are still
receiving an unrealistically high dividend every quarter - year after year
after year?
All
this luxurious corporate welfare has been underwritten by constant rate rises
imposed on captive consumers despite the fact that the value of the faltering
parent company, Pepco Holdings Inc, has actually dropped by a third, from over $30
a share six years ago, to about $20 a share today.
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