PUC TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING IN BETHLEHEM

ON PPL PLAN TO INCREASE RATES 

 Senator Boscola wants customers to be heard from before PUC acts on company’s plan to charge higher rates 

     HARRISBURG (March 18) – Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) today agreed to hold a public input hearing on electric rates in Bethlehem at the request of State Senator Lisa Boscola. 

     On April 2^nd, a PUC Administrative Law Judge will convene the hearing at Northampton Community College to gather public testimony on a controversial plan by PPL to increase customers’ electric rates. 

      PPL wants approval from the PUC to start charging their customers higher “deregulated” electric rates in mid-2008.  Under state law, electric rates for PPL are “capped” and cannot be deregulated until 2010. 

       To date, rate caps have already expired for six of Pennsylvania’s other electric companies – and none of those six even proposed asking the PUC to “phase-in” higher rates, Boscola said.

      “If PPL wants to really help their customers, they should be doing more to keep their rates down, instead of trying to convince people that it’s a good thing for them to pay higher electric bills both sooner and later,” Boscola said.  “They’re trying to scare little old ladies into thinking that if they don’t pay more now, it will be a lot worse later.  Well, senior citizens already can’t afford their monthly electric bills as it is, so how are they going to afford to pay one that’s even bigger?” 

     When electric deregulation was enacted in Pennsylvania, PPL agreed to be bound by rate caps under the law.  They also consented to a PUC order at that time to keep their electric rates capped until 2010.  Now they suddenly want to break the law and violate that order so they can start charging their customers 50% higher rates in 2008, Boscola said. 

     Boscola is leading the fight in Pennsylvania to extend rate caps for an additional two years to give the Legislature time to prevent the “rate shock” that occurred in surrounding states when electric prices were fully deregulated. 

In recent years, residents of Ohio, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Illinois saw their monthly electric bills increase between 59% and 85% under deregulation.  In fact, some customers saw their bills double, she said. 

     “Deregulation was designed to create competition that would give customers more choices and lead to lower electric bills,” Boscola said.  “That has not happened in any other state that deregulated – and it’s clearly not going to happen in Pennsylvania.” 

     Instead of letting a competitive market drive down electric prices, the energy companies formed regional cartels that actually increased the price of electricity by 20%.

Pennsylvania and 12 other states fall under the pricing scheme of the PJM Interconnection.  PJM’s pricing model also guarantees that each company would be able to charge customers the highest so-called “market price” for electricity even if they bought or generated that power for a mere fraction of that cost, she said. 

     “Both Pennsylvania’s deregulation act and the PUC order issued to PPL are consistent and clear – PPL’s electric rates are capped until 2010,” Boscola said.  “There are provisions in the law to allow energy companies to petition the PUC for emergency relief – to prevent a company from going bankrupt and no longer being able to serve their customers, for instance.  But, PPL is making record profits – the highest in company history.” 

     The public hearing in Bethlehem will be held:

            3 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, 2008

            Northampton Community College

            Fowler Family Southside Center

            511 East Third Street

            Bethlehem, PA 18015

     For more information and details, please contact Senator Boscola’s Office. 

(SEE FULL TEXT BELOW OF THE PUC’s PRESS RELEASE ISSUED TODAY) 

PUC Permits Public Input Hearing on PPL’s Rate Stabilization Plan 

March 18, 2008

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today announced it has reopened the record on the Petition of PPL Electric Utilities Corporation for approval of a Rate Stabilization Plan to hold a public input hearing on April 2, 2008, and certify the record for possible action at the PUC Public Meeting on April 9, 2008.  The proposed plan would be in effect from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2011, and would be available to residential, small commercial and small industrial customers and certain street lighting customers. 

Administrative Law Judge David A. Salapa will conduct the hearing at:

            3 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, 2008

            Northampton Community College

            Fowler Family Southside Center

            511 East Third Street

            Bethlehem, PA 18015

According to a Secretarial Letter issued today, the PUC is reopening the record of this proceeding and remanding the matter to the Office of Administrative Law Judge for the following reasons:  the issues underlying PPL’s Rate Stabilization Plan and the Joint Petition have garnered significant legislative and media attention over the past year; the impending expiration of rate caps and possible ways to mitigate potential rate increases have been the subject of many Commission and General Assembly initiatives and hearings; and the Rate Stabilization Plan proposed by the Joint Petition is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and could potentially affect many electric consumers. 

Members of the public are welcome to attend the hearing and provide comments.  Customer testimony will become part of the record on which the PUC will base its decision in the case.  The PUC and state Office of Consumer Advocate, which represents residential customers in rate cases, offer tips on how to participate.  They include:

• Sign in to testify when you arrive.  The judge will call witnesses to speak from the order they have signed in.
• Prepare what you are going to say beforehand.  Even though it is not required, you may want to write out your statement, which can be read.
• If you have a written statement or other papers you want to provide as evidence, please bring copies with you for the Administrative Law Judge, court reporter and other active participants in the case. 
• Your testimony will not become part of the record in the case unless you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is truthful.
• Plan to be questioned.  Parties in the case may want to ask you a question about something you said.  Listen to the whole question. Answer as best you can. It’s OK if you don’t know the answer.

On March 6, 2008, a Recommended Decision was issued by the Office of Administrative Law Judge recommending approval of a Joint Petition for Settlement, which had been submitted by various parties on Feb. 27, 2008.  The Joint Petition seeks to fully resolve all issues associated with the Rate Stabilization Plan, filed by PPL on Nov. 30, 2007, which is intended to help customers mitigate the expected 2010 generation rate increase over a period of several years with most customers receiving a series of annual single digit increases from July 2008 through December 2011.  PPL had sought approval to phase in the currently estimated average 2010 rate increase in excess of 25 percent, anticipated due to the expiration of generation rate caps at the end of 2009 and projected market prices. 

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities to ensure safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protect the public interest; educate consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; further economic development; and foster new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

For recent news releases, audio of select Commission proceedings or more information about the PUC, visit our Web site at www.puc.state.pa.us.

Docket No. P-2008-2021776

###