FirstEnergy has been preternaturally verklempt about its "victory" in the Harrison Power Station transfer case at the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

Reporters have been hard pressed to get much more than the usual "we are reviewing the decision and will respond appropriately" line.  However, congratulations are due to the rather clueless reporters at WDTV, who inspired Toad to say something different, but equally clueless.

Right, Toad, but that "decrease" is only a temporary result of taking the entire credit for the sale of Pleasants in the first year.  Once that $25M credit has been used to reduce rates, it's gone for good, and so is the rate "decrease." 

So, what is FirstEnergy so afraid of in the PSC's favorable Order?  The PSC has allowed the sale and twisted itself in legal knots to do it.  What's not to like?

It's the "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" conditions the PSC added to the transaction.  FirstEnergy's evil henchmen and their bean counting lap dogs are busy running the numbers and scheming up ways to manipulate the conditions so that they don't end up losing any money in the deal.

FirstEnergy told the PSC that the transaction would not damage the credit or financial position of Mon Power & Potomac Edison.  FirstEnergy also told the PSC that recovery of the acquisition adjustment ($589M of funny money added to the value of Harrison at the Allegheny Energy/FirstEnergy merger) was proper under FERC regulations.  They promised the PSC that Harrison would be able to sell excess generation not needed by Mon Power & Potomac Edison at a hefty profit, which would flow back to benefit the West Virginia ratepayers.

The PSC wants FirstEnergy to "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," therefore, the PSC added the following conditions to its approval of the transaction:

FirstEnergy is going to have to cover that $332M write-off with an equity contribution to Mon Power, or else they're going to have to forgo any dividends from the company until the write-off amount is restored to Mon Power's capital ratio.  Obviously, the PSC didn't agree with FirstEnergy's contention that the transaction wouldn't damage Mon Power's credit ratings.  Poor ratings costs ratepayers money through increased credit costs.  The PSC wants FirstEnergy to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.  Ut-oh!  How is FirstEnergy going to agree to this now, then plan to violate it later?  What creative bookkeeping or legal nonsense are they going to commit?

I find this one most puzzling.  Is FERC going to come motoring into West Virginia just to evaluate the purchase price?  Is there a pending FERC case that's not mentioned in the Order?  Is there a case that needs to be filed?  By whom?  FERC does not allow the recovery of acquisition adjustments.  But, of course, that's not what the condition says.  But, obviously, the PSC was not satisfied with FirstEnergy's insistence that recovery of acquisition adjustments is allowed by FERC as part of purchase price, so the PSC wants FirstEnergy to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

This one looks really confusing, but it's not.  FirstEnergy is only allowed to recover the remaining $257M acquisition adjustment, along with interest on same, if the amount recovered is no greater than 50% of the profit margin from Harrison power sales to other utilities during the same period of time.  This means that FirstEnergy must "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" and make the sale of Harrison's excess generation as profitable as possible.  This is going to be a real problem for FirstEnergy.  After all, PJM's energy market prices are depressed... that's why FirstEnergy wanted to "sell" Harrison into West Virginia's regulated system in the first place!  The evil empire is undoubtedly sitting around the poker table, wreathed in a cloud of cigar smoke, devising new and different ways to manipulate PJM's markets.

In addition, the PSC has taken exception to FirstEnergy's proposed Revised Affiliate Agreements. 

The agreements allow FirstEnergy's unregulated generation affiliate to "manage" Harrison.  In this way, FirstEnergy can continue to stick it to the union workers who keep the plant running, and there's not a thing the PSC can do because it does not regulate FE GenCo.  The PSC also has corporate separation concerns about FirstEnergy manipulating energy markets.  Welcome to the club, fellas! (not that we actually expect you two to DO anything about it if that occurs)  The PSC has ordered a separate proceeding to deal with these agreements.  In the meantime, Harrison will continue to operate under existing agreements.

So, now you know why Toad is huddled under his desk, sucking his thumb, and waiting to be reprogrammed.

Be careful of the lies you spin, FirstEnergy, you might just have to live with them.

Big coal, big gas, big tobacco, big pharma, big wind, big green... what do they all have in common?  A desire to control your thoughts and actions to increase their own financial gain.

Now big wind has joined with big green to push an agenda they have dubbed "America's Power Plan." 

What's the surest way to tell you're the victim of propaganda?  Use of the word "America" as a shroud to hide financial or political goals and make you think that everyone else is on board with it.  It's deployment of the most classic propaganda devices in an attempt to control you.  Just say no.

"America's" Power Plan has been developed by environmental groups and transmission developers to inform the public what landowners and consumers want in an attempt to influence energy policy.  No actual landowners or consumers were consulted in the creation of this "plan."  "America's" Power Plan doesn't represent the plan of "America."  It's simply a vehicle for environmental group leadership to check a few renewable energy boxes and for transmission developers to make money.  Lots of it.

This farce has been perpetrated by funding from the Energy Foundation, which is a shady front group whose own source of funds is unclear.  What is clear, however, is how much this "foundation" meddles in both foreign and domestic policy in order to meet goals that may not be shared by "America."  They've got plenty of money to give away to groups who agree to do their bidding, including the creators of "America's" Power Plan.

The greenwashers leading the pack here are the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).  Stop supporting this organization.  It stopped listening to the public a long, long time ago and now merely exists inside its own little political echo chamber where its well-paid employees tell themselves that greenwashing greedy corporate initiatives that may not be in the best interest of "America" is "saving the planet."  After all, their big salaries are paid for by the very energy interests whose initiatives they facilitate with their support and "green" promotion.

And here's NRDC's gushing praise of their own big lie.  NRDC insists that their plan for siting "120 megawatt-miles" (that's enough to almost completely replace all existing transmission) of new transmission at a cost of "$6B per year until 2050" (that's $220 Billion dollars of electric ratepayer debt) will make ranchers and farmers see the light and welcome the destruction of their businesses by new transmission lines.

The siting plan, entitled "Finding a Home for Renewable Energy and Transmission" (aww, sounds like a huggable pound puppy who just wants your love, doesn't it?) pretends that landowners are on board with this "plan."  However, no actual landowners or consumer groups were consulted in its development, despite the plan's claim that:

"Reform must reflect a new approach to siting — one that recognizes the effect wholesale power markets have on transmission planning, and one that meets the needs of landowners, wildlife and society as well as project sponsors and investors."

It seems that they managed to get everyone else to the table to approve this plan, except the landowners, which can only mean that the landowners are the ones getting the shaft here.  Without buy in of affected landowners, "America's" Power Plan fails.

This is not a Landowner or Consumer Plan!

Co-authors and reviewers of this plan include representatives of environmental groups, the benighted Center for Rural Affairs (who has strayed far afield from its original focus on independent farmers, in favor of corporate financial interests), political and business interests, and transmission owners and developers, such as Jimmy Glotfelty from Clean Line Energy Partners.  Ooops... sorry.... did I say a bad word?

Where are the landowners and consumers?  They aren't part of this "America."

I could go on for pages about the stupid contentions, condescending clap trap, and sheer arrogance contained in the siting plan, but instead I'm just going to concentrate on the "plan" to have landowners clamoring to host new transmission infrastructure.

"Additionally, decision-makers must pay special
consideration to private land owners. Private landowners
play an invaluable though often overlooked role in
the siting and construction of both generation and
transmission infrastructure. Particularly in the Eastern
Interconnection, transmission projects are built almost
exclusively on private land. How landowners are treated
throughout this process can determine whether projects
are more rapidly approved and developed or delayed
and even halted."

Here are the plan's six new options for willingly giving up your property for transmission development.  All six of them read like ways for transmission developers to simply swoop in and collect the gold after neighbors have been pitted against each other in a greedy battle to assemble rights-of-way, where the financial wants of the few trump the property rights of the many.  If you find anything in here that you, as a landowner, think is viable, please let us know.  The landowners who've looked at it so far think it's just more unworkable, heavy-handed land theft.  Maybe if the authors had actually consulted some landowners affected by transmission projects when writing their "plan," they would have found that out before publishing this, instead of after.

• Special Purpose Development
Corporations (SPDCs) focus on providing
landowners with another option for
just compensation. The condemning
authority creates an SPDC, allowing
the landowner to choose between two
options. Landowners can either opt
to receive the traditional fair market
value for the parcel or they can elect to
receive shares in the SPDC. The value
of these shares is commensurate with
the fair market value of the parcel the
landowner has committed to the project.
The condemning authority then sells
the SPDC to a transmission developer
at auction. The sale increases the value
of the SPDC, and the landowners’
shares are transferrable on the open
market. Each shareholder is entitled to
project dividends. The result is that the
landowners’ compensation is tied directly
to market value, unlike traditional “just
compensation.” By giving landowners
a stake in the project’s success, things
can move more quickly and fairly. This
framework is applicable to utility-owned
transmission projects; a merchant
developer does not have a mechanism
for recovering equity dilution from
rates and may instead prefer to offer
landowners annual payments tied to
project royalties.

• Landowner Associations refer to groups
of landowners that come together with
a shared interest. These associations
have been particularly successful
for wind development, and are also
suitable for shorter transmission lines.
Each participating landowner is given
a proportional share of ownership in
the association based on the amount
of land they want to make available
for development. As an association,
landowners then approach developers
for projects. Members of the association
that physically host turbines or
transmission infrastructure are given
a premium, but all members of the
association receive a portion of profits.

• Tender Offer Taking enables developers
to test landowner interest in several
corridors by drawing proposed
boundaries for a given project, and
offering an above-market price for all
landowners within the boundary. The
developer then confidentially monitors
acceptance, and goes forward with the
project once a predetermined threshold
is met (applying eminent domain
authority to any remaining holdouts). If
the threshold is not met, the developer
shifts attention to a different corridor.
Tender offer taking is well-suited to large
projects that can be broken into discrete
segments.

• Good Neighbor Payments represent
ongoing payments to landowners that
are near enough to a new project that it
affects them even if it does not require
taking over their land. For example,
wind farm opposition sometimes comes
not from direct landowners but from
neighbors who are affected; thus wind
developers often pay neighbors annually
for noise impact. This concept could be
applied to transmission development
by providing annual payments to
aesthetically affected landowners and
neighbors. In the case of a landowner,
good neighbor payments would be in
addition to any easement negotiation
made. Developers could also pay bonus
payments to farmers who are affected by
infrastructure on the land they cultivate.

• Self-assessment enables landowners
to report the value of their land once
a plan to condemn is announced. The
landowner’s tax liability is then adjusted
to the reported value. The condemning
authority then decides whether to
take the land at the reported price
or look elsewhere. If the developer
chooses to look elsewhere, the
landowner is thereafter prohibited from
transferring his land for less than the
announced value. This solution allows
the landowner to assign a personal
value to the benefit or deterrent of
hosting new infrastructure. A variation
of self-assessment involves an opt-in
mechanism whereby a landowner can
choose to receive a property tax break in
exchange for agreeing to be subjected to
condemnation.

• Annual payments allow landowners
directly impacted by transmission
projects to receive compensation tied
to the amount of power transmitted on
the line. Under this scenario, payments
are distributed each year the project is
in service. Payments can be adjusted
yearly, to account for inflation, and
can be augmented in the event that
the agreed upon right of way is used
for an additional purpose. Annual
payments could provide the landowner
with a greater sense of ownership in
the project, decrease the incidence
of landowner holdouts and ensure
compensation commensurate with the
growing value of land. The Colorado-based
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
has proposed a version of this concept
for both transmission and wind farm
development.

Anything in that list change your mind about having to operate your business around transmission lines and towers?  Anything in there that makes the taking of private property by eminent domain for the private profit of transmission developers more palatable?  Didn't think so. 

Did you see anything in there about how consumers or regulators have agreed to pay even more for new transmission in order to compensate landowners to their satisfaction? Or about the cost effectiveness of land-based utility scale renewables when landowners are compensated satisfactorily? Nope, me neither.

FAIL, "America," FAIL!

I just can't resist pointing out the plan's recommendation that we "improve interagency, federal-state and interstate coordination."  Right.  This comes on the heels of the environmental groups unsuccessfully filing for injunctions to stop the Susquehanna Roseland transmission project from plowing through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area.  These environmental pietists are the worse abusers of federal and state process to hold up projects that they don't like.  So, at this time, I must say... stuff it, you hypocrites!

The plan also says if cooperation fails, then it's time to threaten states with a process that no longer functions:

"FERC backstop siting authority can play an important
psychological role in encouraging states to coordinate
and lead in transmission planning, making it a useful
siting tool. The best value of backstop siting is not in
its exercise, but in the possibility of its exercise."

Wow... it wasn't too many years ago when these environmental hypocrites were lined up against FERC backstop siting threats.  What a difference a little corporate money makes in environmental priorities.

"America's" Power Plan is just another expensive failure because landowner resistance to new transmission is growing and coalescing into a coordinated, knowledgeable movement that will not be denied.  Time for a new plan.

The anticipated WV PSC Order scheduling public comment hearings on the Potomac Edison/Mon Power Billing Bungle case was issued today.  Mark your calendars as follows:

But... despite being promoted as public comment hearings, the PSC has ordered FirstEnergy to pump you full of koolaid and quaaludes before allowing you to speak:

So, you must first drink the koolaid (listen to a FirstEnergy public relations spokesflack make excuses and tell you that you don't have a valid complaint for at least one hour), and then swallow the quaaludes (talk one-on-one with a FirstEnergy representative to remove any lingering doubts about how you deserved to be treated like that).  If you still have something to complain about after your dose of FirstEnergy "happy," then you can make a public comment (but the PSC and FirstEnergy bet that you won't!).

Fortunately, several citizen/consumer organizations will be distributing special enrapturement resistance tools called "education" and "citizen action" at a community meeting BEFORE the PSC and FirstEnergy's magical mesmerizing road show.

Mark your calendars to attend a Jefferson County community meeting on the evening of Wednesday, October 16.  More information will be coming before the end of the week, so check back here soon!

It appears that FirstEnergy and its apologists at the WV PSC believe that our legislators are dumb and forgetful.
That's the only explanation I can come up with for that regurgitated pack of lies legislators were fed during the Gov. Org. discussion of the study regarding electric utilities' billing practices on Monday afternoon.  I do realize that it was late in the day and our legislators wanted to go home, instead of grilling the company and its regulators.  However, only a few legislators managed to ask questions, and they could have done a better job with more information.  Nobody expects legislators to have read all the documents in the case, but a little preparation would have been nice.  It's up to each one of you to get your legislators up to speed here so that they can do a better job following up on your concerns next time.

Next time?  Although Chairman Snyder made noises that  the committee "may not pick it up again," let's not kid ourselves.  The people haven't lost interest and, in fact, a whole new wave of billing problems is beginning to form.  Ut-oh!

Karen Short, PSC attorney, began the festivities by apologizing and making excuses for FirstEnergy again.  Her litany of excuses was almost verbatim to those offered by by PSC Communications Director Susan Small back in May.  When Small's list of excuses for the company was read aloud at the Citizens' Public Hearing, Senator Snyder went ballistic, shaking his fist and proclaiming that making excuses for FirstEnergy "wasn't their [the PSC's] job!"   It must have been the delivery, because I didn't hear Senator Snyder object to:

1.    FE had billing problems related to its merger.
2.    FE made bad decisions about these changes.
3.    Storms!  Storms!  Storms!
4.    Renumbering.
5.    Last winter was 30% colder than the one before.

Here's what Short told legislators the PSC was doing or had done to remedy the problems:

1.    Ordered FE to make monthly data filings.
2.    The General Investigation will evaluate the systemic problems.
3.    FE has changed its collection policy to be more customer-friendly.
4.    The Commission will render an Order setting public comment hearings.
5.    The Commission can order the company to meet specific metrics.

She also asserted that the Commission is concerned about new estimates perpetuating last year's errors.  Great... but is she going to read my meter every month now to correct this problem?  No.  Your "concern" is greatly appreciated, Ms. Short, but why not make the company correct its previous errors and estimation routine to keep it from perpetuating this winter.  It's already begun, and we're hardly into the heating season.

Short says FirstEnergy has been "responsive."  Maybe that's what it looks like from a seat on the Commission's bench, but the view is so much different from my house.

Byron Harris, Consumer Advocate, stopped by on his last day of work to be congratulated and thanked by the legislators.  Even with all that going on, Byron was the only presenter who tried to stick up for you, however, he admitted that he has no data on your complaints because that is handled by PSC staff, and not the Consumer Advocate.  The Consumer Advocate has asked for public comment hearings in Charles Town, Martinsburg and Morgantown.  If you want one in your town, you need to call the new Consumer Advocate, Jackie Roberts, at 304-558-0526 and let her know. 

Byron touched on topics such as pay for performance, making the problems an issue in a future rate case; that the company should have internal controls to flag an account with too many estimates; that he would have to go to hearing to get any remedies the Consumer Advocate might suggest, or FirstEnergy could fight improvement and take the case to hearing.  He mentioned that the company has hired a consultant to analyze their billing program, and Byron hopes it will be an independent and honest process.  He was asked what the customer remedy would be for the company's  failure to follow the tariff and responded that the customer could file a complaint with the PSC.

Byron said the public hearings will be very important.  The PSC and the Consumer Advocate needs to hear from you!

Excuses made for FirstEnergy:

1.    The company spends $6M/year on meter reading.  Having good service will cost too much.
2.    Customers can read their own meters.
3.    FE "works with customers" and is responsive.
4.    There has been some improvement, but there is a long way to go.

In response to Senator Snyder's questioning about an effective legislative remedy, Byron wasn't very helpful, except to shoot down Herb's suggestion to add the meter reading frequency to statute (and perhaps with good reason).  If Herb wants some real suggestions, he knows who to ask... or maybe he'll just get told ;-)

FirstEnergy trotted out WV "Director of Operations" Holly Kauffman.  Where has this woman been?  Nobody has seen or heard from her since this debacle began.  Maybe she's just a do-nothing figurehead whose job is to run boring power point presentations and use up valuable discussion time?

Anyhow, Holly said she takes pride in how FirstEnergy supports "our customers."  Well, I guess that explains it then.  Holly went on to say that FirstEnergy will fix their problems "as a company."  Then she made all the same old, tired excuses as Karen Short.  Do you think they rehearsed this together while exchanging recipes and doing each other's nails?

Holly wants us to believe that FirstEnergy launched its own "internal investigation."  Was that before or after they blew off the Citizens' Public Hearing in Charles Town?  Let's save Holly some embarrassment and admit that we sent her a personal invitation.  She never responded.  Instead, lobbyist Sammy Gray merely "respectfully declined" the invitation for a second time.  I guess Holly just does what Sammy tells her to do.

Holly says FirstEnergy's estimation process is fixed!  You believe her, don't you?  No?  Okay then, she also admitted that the EPRI analysis of FE's billing system has not yet been completed... but why should they bother, when it's already fixed?  And, one more point to ponder -- who is paying for this study?  Surely not the ratepayers, since the problem was caused by the FirstEnergy merger.... and no merger costs are billable to customers.  Well, at least that's what the merger stipulation says, but it also says that FirstEnergy's merger would be a huge benefit to electric consumers in West Virginia.  We're still waiting, FirstEnergy.  Your merger has been nothing but misery and agony for your captive customers.

FirstEnergy did one good thing!  I know... shocking, isn't it?  Supposedly they have hired 7 roving meter readers to fill in during absences and help the meter readers catch up on those impossibly heavy meter reading schedules.  Wow!  Did they call in Sherlock Holmes to figure out that they need some sort of back-up system because life happens?  They have also supposedly begun calling customers to alert them in advance of a renumbering double billing event about to happen.  Is that because that tiny line of text on the bill just wasn't effective?  Right.

But then she got carried away and insisted that FirstEnergy is responsive to customers and that no customers had their power disconnected due to the billing fiasco.  This is just plain NOT TRUE!

A few legislators asked questions, but Holly batted them all away as insignificant or unworkable.  A very unintelligent discussion of smart meters ensued, but Holly's bottom line was that we could either have cheap electricity or good service, but not both.

And make note of this... in the event that you overpay the company due to an over estimated bill, you can call and request that they send you a check instead of being stuck with a huge credit.

To sum it up, FirstEnergy is a company that "continues to improve" and "continues public outreach."  After all, when you've hit rock bottom with customer service, the only direction to go is up.

Please write to your legislator and let him/her know that you are not satisfied with Monday's performance.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know how much we like to help our friends at the power companies with the puzzling task of getting landowners and ratepayers to agree with their outrageous schemes to overbuild unneeded transmission at our expense and/or pull the wool over our eyes while jacking up rates.

That's why we'd like to offer some landowner-created and approved suggestions to Clean Line that are guaranteed to turn that frown upside down!  After all, you're not a real transmission developer until StopPATH WV blog starts making fun of you!  Wear it as a badge of honor, Clean Line!

Reader Nance has come up with an ingenious new way to use orange t-shirts in advertising:

Clean Line could even hand out little promotional chotchkes of tiny transmission towers dressed in orange Clean Line shirts to serve as reminders to politicians, business groups, colleges, and local governments that their support has already been purchased.  Landowners will also want to take these home from open houses and public comment hearings, because water and granola bars (while very effective in setting a hairy-legged tree hugger image) are not very filling, when you spend all day working hard for a living.

And don't forget that all important indoctrination instant!  It's all about shaping the thought processes of the next generation to accept this abuse of due process as routine, right? 

Therefore, we'd like to add another word search puzzle to Clean Line's collection of ultra-exciting school activities!

Students and landowners alike will enjoy hours of fun learning all about Clean Line's projects and how they will shape their lives for many years to come!

Go ahead, Clean Line, use at will, we're giving you these great suggestions free of charge (unlike HDR, who is charging you an arm & a leg)!  Why are we doing this?  Because we love you!  Honest!

Watch this video to find out what offer Jimmy Glotfelty made to a group of high school students.

Jimmy, you're a creep!

Take your monopoly money and go back to Houston.

After issuing a preliminary opinion that FirstEnergy's  Hatfield's Ferry and Mitchell power stations were necessary for grid reliability, PJM ultimately changed its mind last week and approved closure of the plants on October 9.

FirstEnergy, PJM and state officials have been playing a confusing game of life or death with these plants for months now.

Pennsylvania legislators and regulators have been raising a ruckus, giving plant employees false hope that they could find a way to keep the plants open.  Ultimately, all this posturing was only harmful to the actual working men and women at the plants, who have been buoyed along on false hopes, and may have squandered valuable time in securing alternative employment or training for other jobs.  Very sad.

At least nobody is playing FirstEnergy's plant closure game this time though.  Last time, FirstEnergy scored some very valuable reliability must run contracts to keep plants slated for closure open until new transmission could be built.  However, in the end, those plants will close too, and when they do FirstEnergy has nothing to offer to loyal employees.  The company simply doesn't care.

Of course we shouldn't be surprised.  PJM is a transmission operating and building cartel.  Its annual planning is based on a Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP).  Transmission is all PJM does, therefore when the only tool PJM has is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.  While many uninformed people will blame some imaginary "war on coal," they'd be more effective pointing the finger at the pro-transmission lobby that is PJM.  Pay attention to PJM's new transmission project proposal window to find out why FirstEnergy decided to close these plants and replace them with transmission from other generators.  As PJM continues to expand, generation is increasingly centralized at generators located farther and farther  from load.  This isn't economic or reliable, but it puts money in the pockets of transmission owners, developers and suppliers.  This is the REAL enemy that closed Mitchell and Hatfield's Ferry.

So, FirstEnergy employees being kicked to the curb can develop new careers in transmission far from home, or they can invest in new opportunities in distributed generation in their own communities and join with the consumers opposing unnecessary transmission.  Whatever they choose, we wish them well.

Lots of stuff to catch up on today now that I'm back in this time zone, but the most important thing going on today is the legislative discussion of the study regarding electric utilities' billing practices being held at 3:00 p.m.  You may listen live at this link.  When it's time for the meeting, the location will change to a "Listen Live" link.  I  hope you have already called or emailed the members of Gov. Org. to let them know about your concerns regarding your electric bill.  If not, here's a link to committee members.

Please do your part to inform the legislators about your concerns.  "Someone" isn't going to take care of it for you this time.  "Someone" has been busy helping other people for the past week, and "nobody" stepped up to fill the void.  It's "do-it-yourself" this time.

Been hearing rumors about what all those clappers were paid to wear the orange shirts?

Wonder no more...

Students at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago were recruited by the "RISE" club.

And just in case that wasn't enough, students were asked to name their price to fill a t-shirt:

Clean Line really ought to be embarrassed to have funded coerced testimony like this.

And the ICC should throw out any comment that was paid for by Clean Line.

This isn't how "the locals" play fair.

Updated:  More Clean Line misinformation and vapid inducement to get clueless kids from Lake Forest College to fill its ugly, orange shirts:

"Do you want to help pass legislation for renewable energy in the Midwest? Then come to the only public meeting for The Clean Line Energy Project which, if passed, will connect enough wind power from Iowa to Illinois to power over 1.4 million American homes!
If you are interested in going to the only public hearing for this project, next Wednesday leaving @ 4pm, please comment on this! I will happily drive us, and it will be a super fun trip in the name of clean energy!!"

Urrrrp.  I think I just barfed up a quart of perky.

It was standing room only last night in Mendota at an Illinois Commerce Commission public forum on Clean Line Energy's Rock Island "Clean" Line project.  The forum was held at the request of affected landowners and intended to provide a venue for the landowners to have an opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Instead, the arrogant Texas snake oil salesmen attempted to hijack the forum and disenfranchise the very folks the forum was intended to hear from.  Does "Clean" Line think the ICC was fooled?  Do they think they changed anyone's mind last night?  Or, more likely, did they simply demonstrate their arrogance and lack of morals to the Commission and the community?  One thing is certain, "Clean" Line made no friends, only enemies.  Ut-oh, "Clean" Line!

Read about the forum in The LaSalle News Tribune (pictures and video, too!)

"Clean" Line's problems began well ahead of the forum, when its hired public relations "team" arrived and insisted on setting up a table in the lobby.  Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, other "Clean" Line agents set up a gigantic sign next to their gas-guzzling SUV that was to serve as a check-in point where the company's imported supporters could get their "Clean" Line t-shirts, talking points and other party favors.  Soon, numerous white vans arrived and disgorged the classic contingent of union guys and students, who were suited up in the ugly orange t-shirts and hustled to the front of the speaker sign-up line.  "Clean" Line also attracted the usual gaggle of government and business interests who paraded before the hearing officer to state that they supported the project because they believed they could profit from it.

The ICC sign-up table was manned by two local volunteers.  "Clean" Line personnel appointed themselves as monitors of this activity, certain that "the locals" would stack the deck (and they weren't particularly nice about it either).  Citizens were told that sign-up would not begin until 6:30.  However, someone apparently tipped off the hearing officer that the crowd was much larger than anticipated and that sign-ups should open earlier.  And isn't it really coincidental that "Clean" Line managed to shove their union, government and business guys to the head of the sign-up line before it even opened.  Why, it's almost like they knew that sign-up would open earlier than the citizens had been told, and maybe intended to stack the deck with their own imported speakers so that the real people the forum was intended for were shut out.

You've got to get up pretty early in the morning to fool "a bunch of farmers" though, and the citizens quickly rallied and got in line.  Later, groups of students from the university arrived to be suited up in orange shirts and hustled into line, but it was much too late.  The line stretched well outside the school.  The students were disrespectful (and several appeared to be chemically altered) and the police were asked to intervene to keep students from harassing citizens.

And speaking of harassment, I've gotta give a "big man" award to "Clean" Line Executive Vice President Jimmy Glotfelty, who thought it was a good idea to get into a shouting match with the high school FFA members who were greeting folks at the door and handing out BlockRICL literature.  Maybe Jimmy didn't realize that the kids didn't write that (although he was told) but since when is it okay to harass kids?  Jimmy's arrogance was not appreciated by the adults watching this spectacle, and when an adult stepped in, Jimmy got even more irate until the police were summoned.  It's notable that the citizen is the one who was big enough to disengage and walk away.  While "Clean" Line showed their true colors last night, the citizens refused to be baited and behaved like the ladies and gentlemen they are.  Bravo, BlockRICL!

Because so many citizens showed up to speak at the forum, the crowd soon overwhelmed the 500+ seat auditorium and people were standing in the aisles.  When the auditorium couldn't hold any more, and most of RICL's orange shirts were relegated to the lobby, Clean Line implemented a plan to replace citizens in the auditorium with orange shirts from the lobby.  A "Clean" Line rep. was observed complaining to one of the police officers that the fire marshall needed to be called to enforce the occupancy limits of the auditorium.  Sure enough, folks were soon told that if they couldn't find a seat, they would have to leave.  While unlucky landowners who failed at this game of musical chairs were filing out of the auditorium, "Clean" Line reps. were busy shoving their orange shirts INTO the auditorium and escorting them to any empty seats they could find, causing further human traffic jams.  Nope, nothing underhanded about that little scheme.

The performance of "Clean" Line's Texas executives at the forum was quite revealing.  Despite being given several minutes at the beginning of the forum to make his case, VP Jimmy Glotfelty scooted out of the auditorium as soon as he was done speaking, like his shoes were on fire.  After he was done harassing people outside the auditorium, he deigned to sit among us, but his actions clearly demonstrated that he was totally bored and not listening to any of the citizen comments.  He stretched out and feigned sleep, after he got bored playing with his iPhone.  And the people are supposed to believe that this demonstrates an earnest effort to work with landowners to appease their concerns?  Jimmy clearly couldn't be bothered with "the locals."

In a classic case of pointing the finger at someone else, "Clean Line" accused the opposition of line jumping by signing up people to speak who were not present.  "Clean" Line was the only one who had the nerve to do that, and they got publicly slapped down by the hearing officer for it.  A woman from Morris County development something-or-other appeared in a different speaking order than citizens had seen her sign up.  That was confusing... until it was recognized that she had also signed up as another woman, who did not get up when her name was called.  Instead, "Clean" Line pushed one of their imported speakers to the front of the auditorium to "speak for" the woman who didn't answer.  The audience objected, and the hearing officer was told that the woman whose name was called had not even signed herself up.  The hearing officer asked the woman (who it turns out was present) if she had signed herself up, and she had to admit that no, someone else had signed her up before she arrived.  The hearing officer made him sit down.  The man who attempted to line jump finally got another turn at the microphone, when his name finally appeared in the order in which he had arrived.  And then... poetic justice intervened.  Just as he was about to open his mouth and begin his spiel, the hearing officer looked at his watch and announced that it was now 10 p.m. and the hearing was over.  Foiled again!  Turns out that he was some vice president at Southwire, flown in from Atlanta just to speak in favor of the project (because it will make money for his company).  And he failed.  Just like "Clean" Line.

The only thing "Clean" Line accomplished last night was to ruin their own credibility with the ICC with their desperate attempts to silence affected landowners and stack the deck in their favor.  Arrogance isn't the recommended posture for out-of-state snake oil salesman.