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Oh, FirstEnergy, you're such a little fibber!

Yesterday, FE announced the closure of six of their oldest, dirtiest coal-fired generating plants, including the local R. Paul Smith plant in Williamsport, Maryland.  Residents of the town say it's a "devastating blow."

FirstEnergy blames the EPA for the shut down and says that 529 employees will lose their jobs at the six plants.  Aside from early retirement and severance, FirstEnergy has nothing much to offer these loyal employees.  They also have nothing to offer the towns who are losing tax revenue and business generated by the plants.  FirstEnergy says "too bad, so sad, look at what the EPA did to you" to all the "little people" affected by their business decision.

And make no mistake about it, the decision was all about what's best for FirstEnergy's bottom line and stock dividends.  FirstEnergy closed these plants because they are no longer profitable.  That's the real bottom line.

These plants rarely operate because they are obsolete and expensive to run.  The only reason they have remained open this long is that they have been receiving capacity payments through PJM Interconnection's electricity market to remain available to supplement base load plants on a couple days a year when loads are heavy.

"The plant, which has a coal-fired boiler and a fuel-oil fired boiler, hasn’t generated power recently but has been run within the past year, he said.

But Durbin couldn’t say when the plant last generated power, noting that such information would be considered proprietary."

Proprietary?  That's power company double-speak for, "I can't tell you because the answer would make me a liar."

Electrical demand has been down for several years and continues to fall.  This is due to energy efficiency, demand side management and the building of new generation near load centers on the east coast.  The "peaks" in electrical demand are flattening due to demand side management, whereby electricity use is voluntarily curtailed during times of peak demand.  Smaller peaks means that peaking plants like the one in Williamsport are no longer needed.  If they're no longer needed, they're not going to continue to receive capacity payments to sit around idle for 363 days a year.  No money coming in, and FirstEnergy gives them the axe.  This has NOTHING to do with the EPA.

Now, let's take a look at what FirstEnergy says out of the other side of their mouth... the one that speaks to their shareholders, who continually demand an increase in their earnings every quarter.

In this press release on Marketwatch, FE claims that the generating plant shut downs resulted in a .38 per share "charge" to their Non-GAAP earnings, but it didn't do a thing to their overall $2.44 per share GAAP earnings. 

It's all about FirstEnergy's greedy bottom line.  It's not about the EPA, or the well-being of their loyal employees, or the communities they serve.


 


Comments

Pam
01/28/2012 3:46pm

Maybe these out of work employees could become meter readers. Mine hasn't been read in months. And you can't blame bad weather and snow on the ground.

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Keryn
01/29/2012 7:09am

My last one was the product of my meter actually being read! Amazing, I know! I actually saw the guy come and do it.... and I hadn't used as much electricity as they had estimated I would. Always, always their estimates are in their favor so they can float themselves a loan at consumer expense.

I guess vanishing meter readers are another great "merger synergy" from the folks at FirstEnergy.

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Da Hillbilly
01/30/2012 7:07am

I have been reading my own meter for about two years now ... neadless to say, my lectric bill has gone down considerably.

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Keryn
01/30/2012 9:17am

So, did it go down because there were no more estimates, or because you suspect the meter reader was "putting his thumb on the scale" when he read the meter?

And how does that work, anyhow... do they still come out to read the meter every once in a while to make sure the customer isn't cheating them? (just desserts) or do they just take your word for it from that point forward (just like you were taking their word for it up until that point).

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Da Hillbilly
01/30/2012 12:02pm

I doubt the meter reader was doing anything fishy, he's just some guy doing his job. I think it's just a case of the more they "estimate" the more the thumb goes on the scale from the top. I have no idea when they actually come to read it, I just read it on the 14th and send them the numbers. My bill does seem to be more consistant with what we actually use. You know my family, we turn off lights, close doors, burn pellets for heat, etc ... ANYTHING TO KEEP FROM GIVING THEM A$$#0L&$ ANY MORE OF MY MONEY THAN I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. If I should ever end up with a big surplus of money, it will never go to a greedy corporate giant that has proven time and time again their mission is to shaft the citizens.

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Pam
01/30/2012 4:34pm

Our electric bill is so high for just two of us (and the dog who maybe is turning on all the lights and the TVs when we're not home). From the time we moved to WV, we have been on the budget plan so our bill pretty much stays the same year round. Maybe we should come off that plan and see if it makes a difference. We are in a much bigger house then we first moved here, but a much more energy efficient one. Our first house was a double wide trailer, a big electric waster, so that's why we were on the budget plan.

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Keryn
01/30/2012 5:42pm

I dunno about abandoning the budget plan. I still remember my first electric bill here 24 years ago... it was something like $400, in a much smaller house. But I will think about reading my own meter, or at least keeping an eye on it and seeing how honest they are... if the dog will do her part and let me know when the meter reader arrives next time, but for all I know she'll be over at your house, Pam, enjoying the doggy party and turning the furnace on and off 50 times a minute... ;-)

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