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Jerkwater Jimmy Amuses Crowd in Mendota by Dressing Up Like a Farmer

10/28/2013

Trick or treat, Jimmy! Is that your Halloween costume?

Clean Line Energy Partners' Jimmy Glotfelty came to Mendota dressed as a "farmer" tonight!

Who dressed Jimmy tonight? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

The "chore coat" is a political campaign tactic intended to disguise a privileged, super-rich candidate who has never done an honest day's work and make him appear to be "a regular working guy." The tactic became mainstream when used by unsuccessful presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. Use of this political styling tactic has exploded recently, including use by Illinois gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner.

Jimmy was seen in Mendota with Aaron Chambers, of the firm ThomsonWeir. ThomsonWeir performs public relations services for their well-heeled corporate and political clients. "We craft client-specific messages and tailor client communications outreach, whether through conventional news media or through new media tools, to engage and educate local audiences about client priorities."

Aaron Chambers was found sitting alone way up high in the bleachers at Mendota High School, where he was furiously scribbling copious notes on every speaker who opposed RICL. When one of his bleacher neighbors looked over his shoulder to see what he was writing, she saw him drawing diagrams that looked a lot like this:

Ah ha! I think we've found the source of the "chore coat to make Jimmy more likable in Mendota" idea!

This really wasn't a good idea! Why not just have Jimmy walk through the gym holding up a blinking neon sign that says "I think you all are STOO-PID!"? Same effect.

I have to wonder... has Aaron watched the movie Promised Land recently? In that movie, the carpetbagging corporate agents sent to a small town to purchase gas rights from unsuspecting "locals" make the farm store their first stop in town, where they load up on chore coats, boots, plaid shirts and khaki work pants in an attempt to "fit in."

Do you think Jimmy or the other Clean Line executives pondered Aaron's advice before stopping by the farm supply store and picking up Jimmy's costume? Did they really think this was a genius idea? Or were the employees simply too afraid to speak up and tell Jimmy he was making a big, big mistake that would turn him into the laughing stock of rural Illinois?

This is what Jimmy normally looks like. We think. Of course, it's hard to tell who Jimmy REALLY is because he's always trying to be someone he's not.

Ha ha ha ha ha! We're laughing with you, Jimmy, honest!

13 Comments

Tell Sam You Don't Want Any of His Hot Air!

10/28/2013

3 Comments

Pick up the phone. Call toll free 1-877-579-6757 and tell Kansas Governor Sam Brownback that you do not want any of his Grain Belt Express wind here in "eastern states." Do it now!

Why should you call Sam? Because he supports construction of a 750-mile overhead high voltage electric transmission line across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana intended to export wind-generated electricity from Kansas to "states farther east" and make those "states farther east" pay to construct and operate it.

None of these "states farther east" were consulted or asked if they wanted the electricity or the bill for this transmission line. This project is pure speculation by a get-rich-quick company out of Texas, Clean Line Energy Partners. Grain Belt Express wants to preclude the development of clean energy resources in "states farther east" and force you to buy imported "renewables" from Kansas. This takes money out of your community and puts it in Sam's pocket!

Sam controls the Kansas Corporation Commission. Kansans have been told "this is Sam's baby" and that it's a done deal. The KCC staff has recommended that the Commissioners approve the project because they are considering the needs of "states farther east." However, when citizens of those "states farther east" submitted comments to the KCC, the staff and Clean Line attorneys told the Commissioners to disregard those comments because they came from people who don't live in Kansas!

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is controlled by a handful of powerful economic interests in southwest Kansas who want to make money constructing thousands of wind turbines on their unproductive property, and Texas speculators who want to export their product across 750 miles of more productive land, and send the bill to "states farther east."

Tell Sam you don't want his hot air and that you're not paying for his pork barrel project!

Call 1-877-579-6757 or submit your comment online here. Do it now!

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Is Atlantic Wind Connection's Shift in Focus a Sign of Frustration?

10/27/2013

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Remember the Atlantic Wind Connection, the auspicious offshore wind backbone transmission project first unveiled in 2010? At the time, AWC intended to build a $5B, 350-mile network of underwater cables to bring 6,000MW of offshore wind power to 1.9 million homes along the Atlantic seaboard. This could be accomplished with very little new onshore transmission (and without time-consuming and costly opposition to same), therefore this project should be a quick and easy build, a win-win, an environmentalist's and landowner's dream, right?

Wrong. AWC has faced hurdle after hurdle tossed in its path by regulators and competing transmission interests. They're all crying boo hoo about how this is going to cost too much. Instead, these same regulators have plunked down over 2 billion dollars on the unneeded Susquehanna Roseland transmission project in New Jersey, designed to increase the transfer of both nuclear and coal-fired electricity from the Ohio Valley to New Jersey's east coast. We've also financed the more than a billion dollar TrAILCo transmission project, designed to do the same thing by importing western resources into the Washington, D.C. suburbs. Most heinously, these same regulators and regional planners have also wasted approximately half a billion dollars of consumer cash on the failed PATH and MAPP transmission projects that were never built (also designed to move power from west to east). If we add all this up, we're probably in the ball park of what it would have cost to build AWC three years ago, instead of the failed Project Mountaineer.

And east coast regulators and the PJM cartel still struggle to waste consumer cash on generation subsidies, public policy requirements, market efficiency project windows, inter-regional import/export battles and other dumb ideas designed to maintain historical west to east power flows, all while shoving AWC under the bus again and again. Why? Is it because AWC would take market share from all these competing interests? Or maybe AWC just isn't a member of the PJM good ol' boys club? Or maybe it's both.

I came across a story the other day announcing that AWC is "shifting its goal to moving electricity across New Jersey instead of connecting offshore wind farms."

The new plan is called the New Jersey Power (or Energy?) Link and is a $1.8B project "[b]uried under the ocean floor and running the length of the coastline, the New Jersey Energy Link will bring power to shore at three locations serving southern, central and northern New Jersey. When complete, it will be capable of carrying 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind and conventional electricity generated in New Jersey – enough to power more than 1 million homes."

This new "focus" will reduce high energy prices in northern New Jersey by "...mov[ing] power from southern New Jersey to the northern part of the state where energy prices are higher." It's no longer about offshore wind or renewables. Seems like AWC has thrown in the towel on "saving the environment" for the time being, and who could blame them? The big green groups who are busy sucking on the teats of midwest wind and transmission interests have made it clear that they're not interested in offshore wind.

Of course, this now means that AWC is going to be looking for regionally allocated, PJM-ordered, consumer financing for its project, instead of the merchant (self-funded) project it was originally intended to be.

And what do the regulators say about that?

“For us, it’s generally about cost effectiveness,” said New Jersey Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand. “It’s hard for us to support a project like this” because there are less expensive options."

I'm starting to see why AWC might be just a little frustrated by now.

So now AWC will be built in phases over a ten year period. Whatever works to get the job done, because the alternative is a whole bunch of new overland transmission. On paper, some think overland transmission might be "cheaper." I'm thinking not. Building new land based transmission is becoming more expensive and time consuming every day, and time is money in the transmission development game. The price of building transmission is skyrocketing due to increased information dissemination and networked organization of opposition groups. Transmission opposition has gotten much more sophisticated and is coming together nationwide. Uninformed country bumpkin landowners who sell fast and cheap are a thing of the past.

AWC has changed its website and tactics. It sort of looks like they copied our "friends" at Clean Line. Check out the "Supply Chain" graphics here. The handshake and pencil graphics look a lot like these, don't they? There's also a whole bunch of jobs, jobs, jobs stuff and other claims of dubious merit that look pretty familiar. However, AWC doesn't have "a bunch of ticked off farmers" barking at its heels and tossing banana peels in its path. How much do you think opposition costs? It's getting more and more expensive every day.

Every landowner between here and the midwest ought to be lining up to support AWC, instead of the snarl of expensive, uncoordinated "renewable" transmission lines from land based wind farms that's currently being proposed. And every state government on the east coast needs to make a decision -- offshore wind and economic development at home, or sending your energy dollars out of state for imported and unreliable "renewable" energy? Short term cost decisions may not be wise or sustainable over the long term.

What we don't need, however, is AWC and a whole bunch of western "renewables," which is what we may get if AWC is used only as a new north-south transmission "superhighway" as currently proposed. AWC claims it's not a "build it and they will come" project. Right, fellas ;-)

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More Clean Line Shenanigans in Mendota?

10/27/2013

6 Comments

Do you think Clean Line Energy Partners learned anything the last time they came to Mendota? I hope so, because those Texans were like fish out of water. Their over-the-top attempts to take over and control a public event that was intended for landowners affected by the company's project were not well-received. In fact, they were downright destructive to Clean Line's public image. It's impossible to get away with that kind of nonsense in "Mayberry," where everybody knows everybody else and many unnoticed eyes and ears are always collecting information.

Why is Clean Line so afraid to let affected landowners have their say? It seems only fair that those asked to sacrifice for this company's project at least be allowed to speak publicly about their sacrifice, without restraint or interference from the company.

So, is Clean Line planning another round of underhanded shenanigans? I hope not. Any attempts to unfairly control the hearing will be exposed. Clean Line should get over their idea that they're dealing with "a bunch of dumb farmers."

Here's a trio of tricks Clean Line should drop from its repertoire:

1. Line jumping by signing up speakers who are not present. Clean Line got publicly called out on this one last time, when its white-shirted schemers deployed individuals to sign the names of people who were not present to the speakers list, just to make sure they were "saved" a good spot in the line-up. But that practice backfired... because of the aforementioned unseen eyes and ears.

See the woman in beige? I have no idea what her name is, but I know it's not Theresa Hoover, Sales Manager of The Southwire Company. But, there she is, in line right behind me to sign up to speak at the first Mendota hearing. When this same woman was called to the microphone much earlier than me, I wondered if the hearing officer had somehow mixed up his list. It all became clear when "Theresa Hoover" was called to speak after me, and no one responded. Here's what happened next, according to the transcript:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Excuse me.You called Theresa Hoover who is a colleague of mine right before this gentleman spoke. Is there an opportunity for me to speak?

HEARING OFFICER: Say that
again.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You called
Theresa Hoover.

HEARING OFFICER: Yes.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name was
supposed to be on the card instead of
Theresa's, so when you called her I
didn't step up because I didn't know it
was --

HEARING OFFICER: I have got to
go by what I started with.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: So would it
be okay if Theresa came up and spoke?

HEARING OFFICER: Pardon me?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Are you
saying Theresa would need to come up?

HEARING OFFICER: Correct.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Okay.

Fast Forward through one speaker...

HEARING OFFICER: Where did
that gentleman go that asked me the
question?
Is Theresa here?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: She is.

HEARING OFFICER: Where is she?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Here.

HEARING OFFICER: Theresa,
stand up, please.
Was it supposed to be his name on
there instead of yours?

THERESA HOOVER: Yes, sir, it
was.

HEARING OFFICER: Okay.

KERYN NEWMAN: Some other lady
signed that name because they were right
in front of us. Some lady that already
spoke signed Theresa's name up. I
watched her do it.
Theresa and him, neither one of them
signed their name

HEARING OFFICER: Is that true?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I did not sign my name. Theresa was supposed to sign my name.

HEARING OFFICER: Theresa, did
you sign your name?

THERESA HOOVER: No, sir,
actually someone who got here before us.
We made a long trip from Atlanta and
there was a gentleman that signed us up.

HEARING OFFICER: No, no.

Word is, there won't be a sign up at Monday's hearing. I wonder if that is the ICC's way of preventing a repeat of this kind of bad behavior?

2. The game of musical chairs intended to replace landowners in the auditorium with late-arrival, Clean Line-clad speakers in the lobby.

Those who were standing along the wall of the auditorium weren’t able to hear the testimony for long. Shortly after Nelson finished, a Mendota Police Department officer appeared at the stage and conversed with the moderator for several minutes.

“The fire marshal says we have exceeded the number of people in this room. All the people who are standing up against the wall, you are either going to have to leave the room or look for a seat. If you’re not in a seat, you have to be out of this room,” said the moderator, who then proceeded to call out the locations of empty chairs in the auditorium.

When those chairs were filled, a large number of Mendota police officers cleared those who still were standing out into the entryway of the high school. However, a few minutes later, some half a dozen people wearing Clean Line Energy shirts were standing back in one of the doorways, and police did not move to order them away.

Most of those who had been standing in the auditorium and who could not find a seat left the hearing as there was no provision for audio or video feed of the remarks outside the auditorium.

The ICC seems to have solved this by moving to a bigger room with adjustable seating.

3. The "Supporter's Dinner" (because RICL only has ONE supporter, or because they don't know how to use apostrophes?) Offers of free food and t-shirts, reimbursement for transportation costs, or just plain old offers to pay someone to speak on your behalf will be interpreted as paid-for, biased testimony and ARE NOT FAIR OR ACCEPTABLE.

I wonder how embarrassing it would be if a spy attended the "supporter's dinner" and then turned right around and testified all about Clean Line's "secret" shenanigans to drum up paid speakers on its behalf afterwards? Just don't do it, Clean Line, and save yourself a whole lot of embarrassment, okay?

I do wonder why Clean Line cannot fairly rest upon the merits of its project, and finds it necessary to resort to tricks and deceitfulness in an attempt to hoodwink the ICC to approve of its project? Maybe RICL isn't such a good project after all. Think about it.

6 Comments

FirstEnergy and WV PSC Use Media to Quell the Public at "Public Comment Hearings" in West Virginia

10/25/2013

2 Comments

I said it out loud the other night in Shepherdstown, but it bears repeating: FirstEnergy and the West Virginia Public Service Commission ought to be ashamed of themselves!

Regulated and regulator have joined together to expend quite a bit of time and money on a farcical series of "public comment hearings" that turned out to be nothing but publicity stunts attempting to mollify unhappy customers, convince them that the company did nothing wrong, and that all the problems have been solved. I'd expect nothing less from FirstEnergy, but I really expected more from the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

Fortunately, our legislature has our back this time and has opened their own investigation of the PSC's investigation. Be sure to let your legislator know how unhappy you are with the PSC's behavior and media spin at the hearings.

The problems began with the PSC's announcement that FirstEnergy would be making a presentation at the beginning of what was inaccurately described as a PUBLIC comment hearing. FirstEnergy isn't "the public," and we're sick and tired of hearing their spin. We all know the story by heart now... Storms, 30% Colder, and Renumbering, Oh My!

In addition, the PSC "ordered" FirstEnergy to issue a press release about the meetings to the media. FirstEnergy did it in such a way that nobody paid any attention and made sure there would be no advance notice of the hearings in the media. None of the media I contacted knew anything about the hearings. That's funny, when everybody in the area can recite FirstEnergy's billing excuses from memory. The company didn't seem to have any trouble making sure that message got out to the media.

To top it all off, many who attended in Shepherdstown complained that, in addition to plain old lack of timely notice, the hearings were scheduled at hours inconvenient to the Eastern Panhandle's commuting population. An evening hearing beginning at 5:30 was much too early, when at least 50% of the residents face at least an hour (or more, sometimes lots more!) commute back home after getting off at 5:00. Since it was unknown how long the hearing would last, many simply didn't make the effort to come all the way to Shepherdstown to find out if it was still going on when they finally got back to West Virginia.

And then let's think about the PSC's order that FirstEnergy bring along a crew of customer service reps. Why do you suppose that was? It was so the PSC would have a fictional happy place to pass off the sadder stories they would undoubtedly have to endure at these hearings. It makes them look like they care and that they have "helped" people. Maybe it even makes them feel that way too, even if it isn't true. The craziest moment of Shepherdstown's two hearings may have been when Chairman Albert went right on advising a disabled vet to visit the nice company reps in the other room to make things all better, while someone who went to Happy Town before her could be heard yelling "I don't want any more of your excuses!" while police ran through the auditorium to break it up. Chairman Albert didn't miss a beat. Was everyone holding hands and singing Kumbaya backstage in the customer service area? Nope, but that's another post.

Can we also ponder the timing of these "public comment hearings" in the grand scheme of the investigation? Why did the Commission feel it was necessary to put the public input part of this investigation off for 4 months after opening the investigation? It was because it was hoping that the public would lose interest while lower summer and fall usage made it appear that the company had "solved" the problem.

Of course, the media can't be entirely blameless here either. The sad state of our media is readily apparent when reviewing "news" from the hearings. Young reporters who are pushed to produce quantity over quality choose to take the pre-packaged story presented to them by spinners like Toad Meyers and Susan Small, even when it doesn't correlate to what the reporter can see and hear for herself. Much of the news to come out of the supposed "public comment" hearings was focused on the actions of the company or the PSC, instead of the actual public they were intended to hear from. Reporters weren't interested in hearing from the public, they were satisfied with the PSC and FirstEnergy's interpretation of why the public was unhappy.

Only the experienced WV Public Broadcasting reporter produced an accurate, unbiased story. The rest of the reporters were just wasting our time.

The sole bright spot in this debacle was watching FirstEnergy spinner Toad Meyers become increasingly unglued as the questions got harder. The quotes attributed to him went from bad to worse.

“There may be a little bit less meter readers .."

For a little bit less accuracy? Ya know how I know you're making crap up, Toad? Because it's a grammatical disaster!

“We’re trying to improve the estimation, the logarithm, the routine so we can get a more accurate estimate.”

If FirstEnergy doesn't understand the difference between a logarithm and an algorithm, its no wonder they're having so many problems estimating peoples' bills!

“One thing that I’ve got to stress that is very important, everyone’s situation with electricity is unique, with their properties, with their usage. So if people have a question they need to call us directly and work with us.”

What does uniqueness have to do with it being important to contact the company (instead of The Coalition for Reliable Power perhaps?) Logic fail!

Mon Power Spokesman Todd Meyers said it all started with the derecho.

No, it all started with the costly Allegheny Energy/FirstEnergy merger in 2011. The company needed to find a way to pay for that, and cutting services for customers produced "merger synergies."

Meyers acknowledged that meter reading has declined, explaining that about seven percent of meters were being read every other month, a number that fell to two and a half percent.

Let's take a moment to examine Toad's Magic Math. Seven percent of meters are being read every other month. This means that 93% of meters are NOT being read every other month. This statistic lines up with the results of our own customer survey, where 89 of 92 customers said their meter had not been read every other month as required by the tariff. But why would Toad brag about this stunning lack of performance? Why, Toad, why?

Meyers said the next step after the hearings will involve the PSC looking at the transcripts from the hearings and sending reports to Mon Power and Potomac Edison..."

Who's in charge here? Mon Power and Potomac Edison or the PSC, compiler and sender of "reports" for the company's use?

"Between the storms, between the renumbering, something that we instituted to make the process better but in the short run it actually made some things worse. You had a string of estimates, and that could result at the end where we came out to read a meter in a larger than expected actual bill," said Todd Meyers.

Wow, Toad! That's a very impressive string of senseless babble. It's practically incoherent. You should get a nice bonus for that one!

"Our belief is that we're able to do it every other month, it's worked well doing that except for more recently but i think we're going back to the place where it worked pretty well," said Todd Meyers, Potomac Edison's spokesman.

Again, incoherent babble that would make an English teacher cringe, but let's try to translate. Toad believes that if they "do it" every other month it works well. Except that they didn't "do it" every other month. So, it didn't work well. Toad thinks that maybe they might be going back to "doing it" every other month, so maybe it's going to work "pretty well." Except, it's not.

"Believe me, we want to make this right, we want to fix this and we worked very diligently to do that and we continue to work, and anything that comes out of this investigation, anything that the PSC prescribes is something that would be good to do going forward, you know, we'll be doing that," said Meyers.

I'm sorry, I'm not buying this fake concern. Is there anybody who thinks Toad is sincere? "Believe me?" Hahaahahaaaaa! After all these years of pissing on the public's leg and telling them it's raining, now Toad wants us to "believe" him? FirstEnergy has steadfastly denied there is a problem to be fixed, and has only "worked very diligently" to cover up the company's culpability. I am thrilled to know that "we" will be following any orders of the PSC though. Nice touch! But, the company already admits it has not complied with its PSC-ordered tariff, so we'll assume it will afford equal deference to whatever the PSC "prescribes." (I would order a big ol' dose of sodium pentothal).

However, they don't think they'll be able to do a meter reading every month because of staffing.

I guess it's going to cost your company some money to hire enough staff then, Toad. Duh. That's part of the penalty to "make things right."

Moving forward, Potomac Energy officials say they'll do what's best for the customer.

Because the company has been doing what's best for the company up until this point?

Poor, idiotic Toad Meyers. But, at least he was only attempting to represent his company. The PSC's spinner, Susan Small, was attempting to tell the media what the public was thinking. Susan has no idea what the problem is here, much less what the Commission will do about it. Susan blew off the Citizens' Public Hearing in Charles Town in May, sending a letter of excuses for the company, instead of a staff member. Susan has a lot on her plate, and that's a shame, but if she can't do her job because of it, then she needs to step down. When asked why she couldn't be bothered to do any public relations to promote these public hearings in the media, Susan hid behind the requirement that they be advertised in the legal section of the local paper as "adequate notice" to the public. When asked about the purpose of the press release FirstEnergy was ordered to produce, I don't remember her having much of an answer. Let's take a look at Susan's attempts to frame a problem she knows nothing about (and probably cares about even less):

“My bill is inconsistent, I’m getting estimated bills instead of actual bills,” are the most common complaints the PSC has heard, Small said.

“Between weather situations and the way that they changed their billing processes, many customers have received two, three, four, five estimated bills in a row,” Small said. “And unfortunately, a lot of those estimates have been very low, so when the true-up bill comes, all of a sudden, it’s much higher than the customer’s expecting.”

“That’s what we’re working on now. One of the things they (the customer) can do is call the company and make sure that it’s an actual reading, that that’s actually what they owe, and if it’s more than they can handle right off, work out a deferred payment plan, sort of putting your arrearage on a budget plan so that you can pay it off over a number of months,” according to Small.

Small added FirstEnergy, the parent corporation of both companies, is being required to submit customer service metrics to the PSC on a monthly basis, but they also want to hear from the customers.

"They ordered the companies to file specific customer service metrics so we can keep track of things like calls into the call center, whether or not people are being satisfied with the first call, how long they're having to wait on the phone," said PSC spokesperson, Susan Small.

"It wouldn't be unreasonable in this kind of case for the commission to issue a final order that required first energy to keep up the flow of data coming into the commission so we can make sure that their customer service numbers are where they should be and the customer is getting the service they deserve," said Small.

I'm sure those customer service metrics are going to come in handy to keep people warm this winter when they can't pay their badly estimated bills. Maybe Susan intends for you to roll them up into paper logs and burn them to keep warm?

Thanks for the "help," Susan. I'll be handing out YOUR phone number to people who can't pay their bills this winter, instead of the phone number of my little friend at the customer call center. Too bad Susan isn't proactive enough to provide advice on how to prevent those large bills from ever happening in the first place, so that no one ever has to "pay their bill off over a number of months," because then we wouldn't need to hand out anyone's phone number.

This story is an absolute mess.

This story doesn't even mention the PSC's involvement.

Maybe Susan should have been doing her job all along, instead of trying to simply make it LOOK like she's been working by jumping in front of every TV camera that showed up at the hearings.

So, let's review. The PSC set this up to make itself simply appear to be taking action. The purpose and timing of the hearings was carefully planned to make sure most people could or would not attend. Despite a steady turn out of articulate, credible "public" with compelling and shocking stories that painted FirstEnergy's incompetence and greed as bordering on criminal, the story that was spun for the media is that the problems are fixed and everyone is happy.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission continues to fail the public it is tasked with protecting from utility monopolies. Tell your elected officials that we need to make changes at the PSC until the needs of the public are being served.

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RSVP for PATH "Open Meeting" Because PATH Will Take Another $39.8M From You in 2014

10/25/2013

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Time is quickly running out to send in your RSVP for PATH's upcoming "Open Meeting." Follow the instructions here to send your RSVP for the meeting to PATH's lawyer on or before Oct. 28.

This isn't a real "meeting." An overconfident and arrogant PATH wasted your money for several years holding actual in-person meetings, complete with coffee & donuts, at its fancy DC counsel's office. However, the whimpering remains of PATH now holds this "meeting" over the phone via conference call.

During the call, you can ask PATH any questions about its plan to collect another $39.8M from you in 2014. If you are a party to the abandonment case, you cannot ask about that case, but only about the information contained in the 2014 Projected Transmission Revenue Requirement filing linked above. Silly, yes, but when has PATH ever been logical?

A lot of you have been asking me what's going on with the abandonment case and why PATH continues to collect money from you. Until that case settles or is heard, PATH is permitted to continue to collect the reimbursement it requested when it filed for abandonment. If, after the case is over, it is determined that PATH has collected more than it is allowed, PATH will have to refund the difference to you.

So, send in your RSVP for the November 1 @10:00 a.m. phone meeting and belly up to the farcical ratepayer question bar. If you don't come, PATH will think you don't love them anymore.

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FirstEnergy and Its Captive Customers Give Each Other the Stink Eye in Shepherdstown

10/24/2013

8 Comments

Customer Sharon Wilson was one of many this morning who refused to be silenced by FirstEnergy corporate counsel's stink eye. I think he needs to practice that look in front of the mirror some more. It doesn't work.

FirstEnergy faced off with ratepayers in Shepherdstown at two public comment hearings in as many days. Despite the plaintive wail coming from a march of malcontents, the company, the PSC and some media outlets continue to cling to their fantasy that things are getting better. They're not, of course, but FirstEnergy persists in denying any wrongdoing, while continuing to make excuses for the reprehensible way it has treated its meal ticket, err.... "customers."

The PSC and the company, working in tandem, quelled their fright of the Eastern Panhandle by scheduling the hearings for hours inconvenient for the area's DC-communting population, and refusing to undertake any effort to give the public adequate notice of the hearings.

No matter -- the company was still resoundingly spanked by a determined group of unhappy customers who came to tell their stories. Those who made the effort to speak out in Shepherdstown included a single mom who had to choose between feeding her child or having heat due to outrageous Potomac Edison bills, and a retired couple who received a bill from Mon Power for their West Virginia second home that totaled more than $5,000. Many more came before the Commission and though their personal stories were varied, all those who spoke asked that the company be ordered to read every meter every month for a period of one year in order to develop accurate usage data on which to base future estimates.

The public also resoundingly agreed that FirstEnergy's presentation of continued excuses was... crap! The only ones who seemed to enjoy it were the media and FirstEnergy's lawyer, who listened raptly to the exact same presentation with a pseudo-fascinated concentration... twice.

In the face of all its misdeeds being publicly exposed by customer after customer, FirstEnergy continued to make excuses and deny that there is a problem. FirstEnergy steadfastly refuses to admit its failings, issue a credible apology, and make amends for the injury it has caused to its captive customers.

Disgusting.

8 Comments

Potomac Edison Customers Urged to Tell Their Stories at West Virginia Public Service Commission Hearings in Shepherdstown October 23 & 24

10/21/2013

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In the wake of customer education meetings held across the state last week, the Coalition for Reliable Power and the Jefferson County NAACP are urging Potomac Edison customers to turn out for official public comment hearings October 23-24 in Shepherdstown.

Community members who attended the group meetings were also provided with information and tips for coping with inaccurate Potomac Edison bills this winter.

“We recommend that you check the accuracy of your electric bill every month, just as you would any other bill,” said Keryn Newman of the Coalition for Reliable Power. “Learn to read your meter, compare your usage to the billed amount, and call Potomac Edison to ask for a corrected bill when the numbers don’t agree.”

In addition, Potomac Edison customers were urged to ask the Public Service Commission at the hearing to require Potomac Edison to read every meter, every month, for one year in order to compile accurate data on which to base future estimates.

Senator Herb Snyder also encouraged those in attendance to participate in the PSC’s public hearings to help the Commission gather evidence for its investigation.

“This is an opportunity for the citizens of the Eastern Panhandle to speak directly to the Public Service Commissioners. Potomac Edison customers should be as specific as possible about their particular power company billing problems and any unsatisfactory interaction with the power company while attempting to resolve those problems. Citizens that have recently had or are continuing to have power company billing problems should definitely speak at the public hearing. The Public Service Commissioners are traveling a considerable distance to hear directly from the citizens. It is important that citizens attend these public hearings,” said Snyder.

The public comment hearings are scheduled as follows:

Where:    Shepherd University, Frank Center,                           Shepherdstown

When:    Beginning at 5:30 p.m.
             Wednesday, Oct. 23rd, or

            Beginning at 9:30 a.m.
            Thursday, Oct. 24th

Hearings will run until all those signed up to speak have had an opportunity to do so

The Jefferson County NAACP is a branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that promotes social justice for all citizens. The Coalition for Reliable Power is a grassroots coalition that advocates for decentralized power. For more information, see www.jcwvnaacp.org and www.forreliablepower.com

See story on WHAG.

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FirstEnergy Customers Learn About Their Electric Bills

10/18/2013

4 Comments

Customers of FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison came away with useful information from last night's customer education meetings in Morgantown and Charles Town. Another meeting will be held tonight in Arnoldsburg. The meetings, hosted by the Coalition for Reliable Power and affiliated organizations The Mountain Institute and the Jefferson County NAACP, provided advice and suggestions for how customers can protect themselves from paying badly estimated electric bills that snowball out of control this winter.

The Coalition recommends that customers learn how to read their meters and take a reading as soon as possible after receiving their monthly bill. If the billed usage varies from the recorded usage by more than 100kwh, the customer is urged to call the company at 1-800-686-0011 to provide an actual reading and request a re-billing.

Customers were also surprised to learn of a $5.00 flat monthly charge per customer included in the "base charge" line item of their bill. This "customer charge" pays for meter readers, billing, distribution system maintenance and other fixed costs. However, if the company doesn't spend the full amount every month, whatever is left goes into the utility's pocket as extra profit! Potomac Edison and Mon Power never have to account for how that $5.00 is spent, therefore they may trim expenses, such as cutting their meter reading staff or failing to perform right-of-way or line maintenance, in order to pocket the difference. These FirstEnergy companies serve approximately 500,000 customers in West Virginia. Half a million customers x $5.00 every month equals $2.5M paid to FirstEnergy every single month. Whatever the company doesn't spend on services for us is theirs to keep.

Customers were also upset to learn how much the recently approved Harrison Power Station purchase is going to cost them. More than $800M must be repaid to the company over the next 27 years, plus an additional $240M for needed pollution control upgrades. Customers don't feel that they are being adequately protected by the WV Public Service Commission or the WV Consumer Advocate. Who's looking out for residential ratepayers? The meeting attendees think C4RP and its partner groups are doing a better job than appointed officials!

The Coalition was joined by Senator Herb Snyder last night in urging customers to attend the WV Public Service Commission Public Comment Hearings next week to tell their stories. The PSC needs the help of every customer who has been affected by the company's shoddy business practices to provide evidence by telling their story. Only if enough of us step up to tell our stories and corroborate each other will the PSC have the evidence it needs to properly punish the company for its deliberate injury to customers, as well as to order remedies to get things back on an even keel. The Coalition is recommending that customers request that the PSC require the company, at its own expense, to read every meter, every month, for one year in order to develop accurate base line data for future estimates.

The Public Service Commission Public Comment Hearings will be held:

October 23, 2013       5:30 p.m.    Shepherd University Frank Center, Shepherdstown, WV
October 24, 2013       9:30 a.m.    Shepherd University Frank Center, Shepherdstown, WV
October 24, 2013       5:30 p.m.    West Chester Village, Stafford Room, Fairmont, WV
October 25, 2013       9:30 a.m.    West Chester Village, Stafford Room, Fairmont, WV

You must sign up with the WV PSC clerk in the lobby in order to make a comment to the Commissioners. Comments may be limited in length, depending on the number of commenters who show up, so that everyone gets a chance to speak. Commenters should not expect to engage in dialogue with the Commissioners or the company. You may provide your comments without receiving feedback. The PSC has ordered that the first 30 to 60 minutes of the hearing will consist of the company discussing: the circumstances that gave rise to the current customer meter reading and billing problems; how the merger and severe storms in 2012 affected customer meter reading and billing; changes implemented to improve customer meter reading and billing; planned changes to improve customer meter reading and billing; and services available to customers continuing to experience meter reading and billing problems. If you arrive a little late and miss FirstEnergy's infomercial of excuses, that's okay. The hearing will continue as long as people continue to arrive and sign up to speak.

In addition, the PSC has ordered that the company arrange for its representative(s) to have access to customer records at each hearing and be available to speak with customers individually after the completion of public comment. So, if you have a question about your bill(s), bring it along and get in line to talk to a representative. There's no guarantee that your in-person wait will be quicker or marginally more pleasant than the endless hold queue you are routinely placed in over the phone, but hopefully it will be a lot harder for those customer service representatives to be snotty and unpleasant when they are face-to-face with real people. It's nice for the PSC to provide the company's staff with this little reminder that they are supposed to serve real people, so let's all do our part to help them cast this production.

And remember -- tell the PSC -- EVERY METER, EVERY MONTH!

Cross posted from The Coalition from Reliable Power Blog. If you have questions or need additional information, email The Coalition.

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An Open Letter to EUCI From "The Public"

10/18/2013

22 Comments

Dear EUCI,

I've come across another one of your conference agendas recently. After drying my tears of laughter, I shared it with my friends in "Mayberry." They are not impressed. In fact, you could call them downright miffed at your arrogant, condescending and inaccurate attempt to pretend you understand them, their communities, and their lifestyles. How dare you!?!

The cause of the current consternation is your 8th Annual Public Participation for Transmission Siting conference. While this conference has historically been an annual source of amusement to transmission opposition leadership, this time you've gone too far.

Perhaps all that crisp, green sponsorship gets in the way of your better judgement, but should you take a few moments to reflect on the veracity of your conference speakers, as well as the accuracy and effectiveness of their presented material, you might find something amiss.

Keynote speaker Jimmy Glotfelty's presentation is touted as:

Clean Line energy will discuss the public engagement challenges that are inherent when developing and building new large infrastructure projects. How do we overcome these challenges and work to ensure that our stakeholders feel they are informed and part of the process, each step of the way? He will discuss the lessons learned and some of the challenges faced in his career developing transmission projects across multiple states.

Jimmy Glotfelty? The same Jimmy Glotfelty with the orange shirts and bribe money? The same Jimmy Glotfelty who had to be told by the police to stop harassing high school students and offering them money to testify in favor of his project? That Jimmy Glotfelty?? We've heard of him.

First of all, we don't believe that Jimmy has successfully developed any transmission projects during his "career." We consider him a wanna be. Secondly, we wonder if Jimmy will be giving away orange t-shirts, hamburgers, gas money and rides to the conference to demonstrate how he "overcomes" challenges? Jimmy's deliberate, completely avoidable, behavior at a recent Illinois Commerce Commission Public Hearing was reprehensible and probably did more damage to Clean Line Energy's public and regulatory image than any number of truly unavoidable challenges ever could. We fear that if other transmission developers begin to adopt Jimmy's methods, transmission building is going to come to a screeching halt and the lights are going to go out. Jimmy should be considered transmission's public enemy #1.

Next, we'd like to discuss your burgeoning interest in social media. Just so you know, social media allows the public to express opinions that drive rejection or acceptance of an idea or proposal.

Case Studies: Understanding Ins-and-Outs of Utilizing Social Media for Public Engagement.
In a time where social media is one of the most common forms of communication, it is
important to understand when it is appropriate to utilize it to engage the public and stakeholders during the transmission siting process. It is crucial to understand when to use it as a main form of communication or as a supplementary form of communication - and who you can expect to reach, and how. This presentation will use and demonstrate
how social media is currently being used as an integral portion of a public outreach and
communications plan.
- Louisa Kinoshi, Associate, Clean Line Energy

Did you even bother to look at Clean Line Energy's Facebook real estate before agreeing to this presenter's version of social media mastery? Probably not, because Clean Line Energy no longer has any Facebook properties! Clean Line shut them down because real people kept getting in and posting their honest thoughts and opinions that Clean Line couldn't control. Clean Line also likely discovered that Facebook is just a little too transparent, exposing a lack of public support for its proposals. Keeping an army of sycophantic sock puppets active on numerous Facebook properties can be just so tedious. It seems to us that Clean Line itself has plenty to "understand" about social media, before it is qualified to teach others.

Let's address the elephant in the room now, shall we? It's the real reason for your educational conference and unhealthy fascination with us. It's what makes us rock stars. You are clueless about our formation, hierarchy, motivation and determination. Sun Tzu once said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” He'd be a great speaker for your conference, if he wasn't dead and all. Maybe you can buy his book? I hear it's a real page-turner.

So, you want to develop our relationship with attempts to be clever using outdated, supercilious names constructed from your industry's weird obsession with acronyms? I'm truly hurt, EUCI. As if labeling us as members of unacceptable groups would somehow help you develop a better understanding of us, one that will allow you to "handle" us all the way to permit denial?

Going BANANAs with NIMBYs – Best Practices in Dealing with Community Based Opposition Groups.
Increasingly, organizing public participation opportunities means having to handle
disruptive influences from community-based opposition groups - BANANAs (Build
Absolutely Nothing Anywhere near Anything/Anyone) and NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard). This presentation will discuss experiences at Southern California Edison and
how the company has adapted to this new business environment. Southern California
Edison is currently experiencing one of the largest infrastructure capital investment
programs in company history. Driving this are multiple factors, including California’s
ambitious renewable energy goals and the need to replace aging infrastructure that
was constructed during the post-World War II boom. As a result, the opportunity for
community based opposition groups to develop has increased significantly. Recent
advances in technology have made it easier for community-based opposition groups to
organize and, more importantly, to strategize. With the opportunity cost of starting and
participating in such groups constantly decreasing, it is important for public participation practitioners to have a healthy understanding of how such groups are motivated and how to manage them effectively. The discussion will provide the audience with best practices on dealing with community based opposition groups as well as tips on how to prepare internal, technical subject matter experts to effectively handle emotionally charged situations. These best practices are based upon the experiences of Southern California Edison’s local public affairs department.

Do tell how assigning people to silly fruit acronym name groups, and then disparaging them, accomplishes effective public participation in transmission siting? Where we come from, that's just not polite, and won't win you any cooperation from the fruitbowl. It's actually sort of insulting. We don't really get it, but have been considering giving you all a fruity name of your own, and would like to know the rules of the game. We've already come up with MIMPSY (Money In My Pocket, Screw You) to describe you, but fear it might not be quite fruity enough?

As I'm sure you've heard, our favorite activity is holding bake sales. If you ever find yourself overrun with overripe bananas, I'd be happy to share my kick-ass recipe for banana bread with you. There's just so many things you can make from the clever and versatile banana! Maybe you could hold your own bake sale, instead of a training conference, to raise cash! Do let us know EUCI. We'd be happy to fly to Houston to buy your cupcakes!

I do wonder though, since this is an educational workshop, what experience your instructor has organizing or strategizing with community-based opposition groups? My guess would be none. Last time I looked, SCE got it's butt kicked in Chino Hills. The power companies are usually the ones on the outside of our groups, desperately trying to see inside. You all have NO IDEA how sophisticated our organization and strategy has become... and that's the way we like it. Expect the unexpected, transmission developers!

And if being called a fruit isn't insulting enough to "the public," you further besmirch us as "Mayberry" in your "Marketing to Mayberry" segment.

Marketing to Mayberry: Communicating with Rural America.
Communications and marketing outreach in small town America requires entirely
different tactics than those used with larger more metropolitan communities. Join this
conversation to learn some of the pitfalls to avoid and the strategies to deploy when
reaching out to small communities. Attendees will learn to prepare for the challenges of
engaging a rural setting, communicate in a conversational tone rather than corporate
tone, identify and engage credible spokespersons in rural communities and understand which communications and marketing tactics to utilize.

If this wasn't so blatantly insulting, it might be fun to sit through. What do you do, run the movie Promised Land and hand out Matt Damon masks? Or maybe you simply try to teach these jerks some honesty and humility? It's really not that difficult to communicate with "Mayberry." What is difficult is getting away with lies and bad behavior in small towns, right, Jimmy? Right, Clean Line?

You've simply outdone yourself this year, EUCI! Since your conferences are fully accredited for continuing education credits by the International Association for Continuing Education & Training, we'll assume there must be some educational standards your conference content is required to meet. We're concerned that you may be risking your certification and credibility by promoting professional failure as a "successful" best practice! It's because we worry about your reputation that we'd like to help you out, EUCI. We believe we could provide valuable assistance with this conference activity:

Mock Open House
Open houses are commonly used during the public outreach campaign through the
transmission siting process. They are used to communicate with the community, land
owners, stake holders and public officials and allow them to express their concerns
regarding the transmission lines. Effective, clear and concise communications are crucial
for the open house to run smoothly and successful. This mock open house will allow
key subject experts to run an open house and the attendees to participate in the “open
house,” showing effective forms of communication, how to answer questions and walk away with everyone being pleased with the outcome.

We graciously offer to provide a cast of crack "actors" to play the parts of the community, land owners, stake holders and public officials at your mock open house. We've been mocking these guys at their open houses for years, so we're quite experienced! We feel this will add just the right touch of hard-to-replicate realism to the exercise and will guarantee a tangible, useful, hands-on education for your conference participants. And, besides, nothing says fun like ignorant country bumpkins bearing torches and pitchforks! They're just so unpredictable!

In all seriousness, EUCI, we're not sure how you're going to educate transmission developers to succeed when your teachers have failed the subjects they are attempting to teach. You'd do much better with instructors from the community groups you are targeting for attendance. But then again, why would we give away our secrets? They're working so well to alter, delay, and cancel unneeded transmission projects. We have made you our bit*subservient groupie*ch. When we have our annual continuing education get-togethers, you're probably not going to be invited. Sorry.

Best Regards,

America's Transmission Opposition
Bigger, Badder, Scarier
and Smarter... oh, so much smarter than you give us credit for...

22 Comments

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Forward>>

Jerkwater Jimmy Amuses Crowd in Mendota by Dressing Up Like a Farmer

Tell Sam You Don't Want Any of His Hot Air!

Is Atlantic Wind Connection's Shift in Focus a Sign of Frustration?

More Clean Line Shenanigans in Mendota?

FirstEnergy and WV PSC Use Media to Quell the Public at "Public Comment Hearings" in West Virginia

RSVP for PATH "Open Meeting" Because PATH Will Take Another $39.8M From You in 2014

FirstEnergy and Its Captive Customers Give Each Other the Stink Eye in Shepherdstown

Potomac Edison Customers Urged to Tell Their Stories at West Virginia Public Service Commission Hearings in Shepherdstown October 23 & 24

FirstEnergy Customers Learn About Their Electric Bills

An Open Letter to EUCI From "The Public"

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