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A Circus of Unprofessionalism:  Kansas Corporation Commission Approves Grain Belt Express

11/8/2013

7 Comments

 
In a not at all surprising move today, the Kansas Corporation Commission conditionally approved the 750-mile Grain Belt Express Transmission project.  The project, proposed to plow through and ruin 370 miles of prime farmland in the state, has been greased since becoming the pet of Kansas Governor Sam Brownback when first proposed.  Ol' Sam apparently believed all the pie-in-the-sky promises he was made by a couple of Texas speculators, who saw opportunity to profit off the backs of hard-working Kansans.  Sam and his KCC Commissioners are now trying to hide behind some plainly illogical and assuredly "cooked" job numbers as cover for their betrayal of the people of Kansas.
In Kansas, the project is estimated to result in 2,340 jobs annually during the three-year construction period, and an estimated 135 jobs to operate and maintain the project on an ongoing basis. Additionally, construction of the associated wind facilities in Kansas is estimated to generate between 15,542 and 19,656 Kansas jobs, while operating and maintaining the wind farms is expected to generate 528 Kansas jobs.
135 jobs to operate and maintain the 370-mile length of this line in Kansas?  Who are we kidding here?  This is a ridiculous claim!  Once built, the line will be operated by a handful of jobs at a control center outside Kansas, hundreds of miles away.  These operators are already controlling hundreds of transmission lines, addition of Grain Belt Express won't cause an appreciable increase in operations jobs.  Every 10 years or so, a tree company will be hired to clear the right-of-way to be in compliance with operation standards, maybe, if they can't get away with ignoring it any longer.  When the line fails or is taken down by a natural disaster, a handful of specialized workers will be imported to Kansas to make repairs as quickly as possible to get it back in service.  Where are the operation jobs, Sam?  Does Sam think that an "operator" will be standing by every 2.7 miles, manually squeezing electricity through this line?  Or maybe they'll just stand on the prairie, cheering the electricity along on its path to "states farther east?"  Ridiculous!  I guess Sam and the KCC have no common sense that would allow them to view the illogical nature of these unsubstantiated job claims.

And that's just the problem here, folks.  KCC's approval was based on the unsubstantiated claims of the applicant.  Unrealistic claims and biased "studies" are a part of every transmission line application.  The applicant attempts to show its project is needed and will provide some benefit.  However, in states with knowledgeable and professional regulators, the information provided with the application is subjected to some expert scrutiny to verify its truthfulness.  Professionally regulated states will hire their own subject matter experts to study the application and provide testimony.  In addition, in professionally regulated states, other parties to the case will hire their own experts to review the information and file testimony.  Only in this way are exaggerated and untruthful claims weeded out to allow the truth to emerge and be considered by the regulators making the decision.

But, the KCC relied completely on two members of its own staff to provide "expert" opinion on subjects ranging from health problems related to EMF exposure to the reasonableness of the route.  Both staff members are electrical engineers.  Their expertise is in electrical engineering, not health, routing, farming impacts, oil operations, jobs, PJM and MISO electricity markets, renewable portfolio standards of eastern states, or any of the other myriad topics upon which Tweedledum and Tweedledee provided "expert" verification of the applicant's claims.  In its Order approving the project, the KCC claims:
However, there was no competing
evidence in the record to suggest that consumers would not benefit in some manner.
The KCC makes it sound like the opposing parties failed to do their part.  The truth of the matter is that the opposing parties were prohibited from entering any evidence or testimony into the record, and were also prohibited from cross-examining GBE's witnesses to test the veracity of the claims made.  This is how the KCC and GBE maintained complete control of an unverified, biased body of evidence upon which to base approval.  This was not due process, but a double time race to approval before the truth was exposed.

The KCC claims that it based its decision on the "necessity and reasonableness of the location of the proposed electric transmission line, taking into consideration the benefit to consumers in and outside Kansas as well as economic development benefits in Kansas."

Here's how KCC "considered" consumers inside and outside Kansas:
BENEFITS TO CONSUMERS INSIDE AND  OUTSIDE OF KANSAS

Grain Belt's Executive Vice President of Strategy and Finance, David Barry, sponsored a study of the benefits of the project to consumers in and outside of Kansas. The general approach taken was to develop a simulation model of electric demand in the MISO and PJM states, to make assumptions about future demand in those states in 2019, and to simulate how the sale of Kansas wind energy into these markets would affect aggregate electric generation costs (which drive the prices consumers pay) and emissions levels of various pollutants (which affect health). Four future scenarios were assumed for the analysis:

Business As Usual - Energy demand grows under a moderate economic recovery with no
major changes to existing environmental policy, generating technologies, fuel  commodity prices, or other key energy market assumptions.
Slow Growth - Continuation of depressed economic conditions characterized by slow demand growth, continued low fuel commodity prices, and minimal  transmission/generation expansion.
Robust Economy - Strong recovery in economic activity characterized by accelerated growth in electrical demand, higher fuel prices and emission allowances prices, and increased
activity in new generation and transmission projects.
Green Economy - Expansion in environmental policy including carbon regulation and a
federal renewable portfolio standard under robust economic conditions including high
demand growth, an increase in fuel prices, and increased activity in new generation and transmission projects.

Using PRODMOD software, the impacts of selling Kansas wind energy into the PJM and
MISO markets were simulated and the following results were reported:

Thus, Grain Belt's analysis of consumer  benefits is that consumers-largely in the PJM
and MISO states-benefit by reducing the cost of electric power ranging between $354 million annually to $546 million annually depending on the assumption one makes about demand levels in 2019. Grain Belt also asserts that consumers also benefit by reductions in emissions levels.
The Commission is not an environmental regulator and estimating the economic  benefits with any precision based on assumptions six years from now over many states included in the PJM and MISO footprints seems questionable to me. However, there was no competing evidence in the record to suggest that consumers would not benefit in some manner. Certainly, the simulation model does provide some indication of the range and magnitude of benefits. At a conceptual level, Grain Belt does not have the power to force anyone to purchase its power. Thus, if utilities in the MISO and PJM markets purchase power from Grain Belt, they must believe that the purchase makes them better off in some manner--either by reducing emissions mandates, meeting a state renewable portfolio standard, or reducing costs. In my view, if there is a viable market for Kansas wind energy in eastern states-the business premise
upon which this project is based - then there must be some benefit to be gained in eastern states.
Ridiculous!  The data upon which the conclusions were based was wholly unverified, and the conclusions themselves were based on questionable assumptions.

The KCC even rolled over and failed to condition the permit in any effective way.  The staff had recommended that the permit be conditioned upon GBE obtaining approval to construct the project from the other three states in which it is sited.  GBE objected, claiming that "federal siting approvals" could be substituted for state permission.  The KCC rolled over and adopted this condition, clearing the way for GBE to thumb their noses at the other three states, instead of "considering consumers outside Kansas."  I don't know about you, but I'm certainly not looking for Kansas to protect my interests, no matter what state statutes they adopt.

The second recommended condition included a requirement that GBE remain a "merchant transmission project."  GBE objected, most likely because it is looking to submit its project for regional cost allocation (ratepayer funding) in PJM and/or MISO (neither of which include Kansas, which is located in SPP).  Once again, the KCC rolled over and worded the condition to simply prohibit recovery of project costs from Kansas ratepayers.

Approval of Grain Belt Express in Kansas is a travesty of justice.  The KCC will now become the laughing stock of other state regulators.  But the battle now shifts to other states with strong regulators, like Illinois and Missouri, who perform their jobs with a little more professionalism, and perhaps to a fateful battle at the Department of Energy, Congress and federal court over federal eminent domain taking of private property in order to facilitate the profits of a private entity.  We're only just getting started...
7 Comments

WVCAG Files Appeal of FirstEnergy's Harrison Plant Sale

11/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Counsel for the West Virginia Citizen Action Group filed an appeal of the West Virginia Public Service Commission's approval of a settlement in the Harrison case this morning.

The filing asks that the West Virginia Supreme Court  grant its Petition for Suspension of the October 7, 2013 Plurality and enter an order vacating the Commission’s decision in its entirety.

It's just too bad the pendulous nature of it prevented it from being filed yesterday morning, before FirstEnergy's timely earnings call, but I'm sure the financial analysts will have plenty of time to give it a look before the EEI conference next week.  Nobody's going to care much about Tony's transmission spend after all.

You can download a copy of the filing here.

0 Comments

Tick Tock, Start the Clock

11/5/2013

2 Comments

 
In the wake of the WV PSC public comment hearings on the general investigation of Potomac Edison/Mon Power billing, meter reading and customer service practices, the PSC ordered  "FirstEnergy to address the substance of the complaints voiced at the hearings."  The Commission gave FirstEnergy 15 days to accomplish this task after the hearing transcripts are filed.

Today, the last of the transcripts were filed.  So this means "the substance" of your comments will be addressed by November 20.

Well, good luck there, FE.  Not only is "the substance" a very non-descriptive term, but "address" is one of those weasely verbs that have multiple meanings.  And then, hey, let's take a look at those transcripts!  Some of it is completely unintelligible, or just plain wrong.  I hope FE took notes like I did...
2 Comments

Why Potomac Edison's Usage Estimation Process Doesn't Work

10/30/2013

1 Comment

 
Ever made a pot of soup and added too much salt?  If you throw in a potato, that will absorb some of the salt, but then you've got too much potato.  So, you need to add more water.  But then it gets tasteless, so you add some more spices.  And then it gets too salty, so you add a potato... 

This is how FirstEnergy's West Virginia subsidiaries' usage estimation process has become FUBAR.  The only way to fix it now it to dump out that pot of soup and start fresh.

And the only way to start fresh is to read every customer's meter, every month, for at least 12 consecutive months and start with fresh data.

This fact was made perfectly clear to me during my personal "customer service" moment during the WV PSC public comment hearings in Shepherdstown last week.

After witnessing customer after customer being whisked off backstage "to be taken care of" by Potomac Edison personnel after they complained to the Commissioners about their service during the hearing, I started to wonder if the customers were being tied up, consumed by wolves, or simply given Potomac Edison beer cozies and pats on the head before being sent on their way.  Curiosity got the better of me when the murmur of an argument somewhere off to stage left escalated into shouting clearly heard throughout the auditorium, and resulted in several bored police officers running through the auditorium to break it up and make the customer move 25 feet away from the Potomac Edison employee he was harassing in the hallway.  I simply had to visit the lion's den for myself after the hearing ended!

So, I soon found myself in Potomac Edison's little backstage Happy Town, where Chrissy was eager to solve my problem.  She spent a while studying her computer before admitting that she really couldn't help me and went to fetch "analyst" Chris.  He spent a bunch of time staring at his computer too.  All this chin scratching to figure out why my usage was overestimated by 800 kwh on my last bill, and to assure me that upcoming planned estimates would not be based on "catch up" amounts from the prior year.  Chris finally concluded that Potomac Edison's estimation process was correct and wouldn't result in incorrectly estimated bills over the winter.  But he could not explain what had failed in my most recent bill that resulted in a rather severe over estimation.  If they couldn't figure out what went wrong last month, how could they know that it wouldn't reoccur?  The assurances I received were so useless, I started wishing for a Potomac Edison beer cozy to take home as a consolation prize, but it appeared to be locked away somewhere off site, along with Chris and Chrissy's senses of humor.

I did enjoy listening to the "private" conversation going on in the next cubicle where one happy customer referred to a customer service representative as "that brat."  Chrissy failed to be amused.  I got the idea that she thinks her fellow customer service representatives are never rude or unhelpful.  You just keep telling yourself that, Chrissy.  I wonder if there's a Rude Customer Service Representatives Anonymous chapter in Fairmont?

"Hi, my name is Brat and I'm rude."
"Hi, Brat!" 
"This week, I told a customer that we only had to read her meter once a year." 
"That's okay, Brat!" 
"And then I made her go out and read her own meter, although she told me she only had one leg and the porch was covered in ice." 
"One Day At A Time, Brat!" 
"But then I told her she had read the meter wrong and I was going to have to charge her a penalty for that."
"You can do better tomorrow, Brat!" 
"And then she asked to speak to my supervisor, so I made her wait while I answered the Giraffe Riddle on Facebook, and then I hung up on her." 
"Ohhh, Brat, we love you anyhow!"

The timer on my patience finally got close to zero, so I thanked my Happy Town guides for their time and got up to leave.  That was apparently the cue for Creepy Supervisor guy to get in my face and ask me if I had been helped.  Oh, c'mon, dude, you were standing right there listening to this whole sad spectacle and I'm sure you weren't doing that because you're hard of hearing! 

Silly, silly, silly!

So, here's what's wrong with FirstEnergy's estimation process -- it's broken and cannot be fixed!

When FirstEnergy stopped reading electric meters to save money in the fall of 2011, it created a string of inaccurate data.  In the fall of 2012, when this bad data started being used to calculate new estimates, the problem pancaked into some really crazy bills.  Then FirstEnergy thought they could devise some method to tweak their algorithm that would set things right.  Only that didn't work.  They tweaked some more.  And tweaked some more.  And tweaked some more.  What's left is something that is now a completely useless mess.  FirstEnergy needs to quit dumping time and money into future tweaks and begin rebuilding an accurate data base.  At their own expense, of course.
1 Comment

FirstEnergy Customers Complain to WV PSC

10/30/2013

9 Comments

 
In looking over my notes and talking to reporters and customers in the wake of the Potomac Edison/Mon Power General Investigation public comment hearings in Shepherdstown and Fairmont last week, it's hard not to notice that certain similarities keep popping up in unrelated customer stories.

1.    FirstEnergy's customer service center is rude, misinformed and unhelpful.

Representatives have told customers it is only required to read meters once a year, twice a year, or other incorrect intervals.

"I waited on the phone an hour and a half, like my time doesn't mean anything."  -- Customer Sonny Spurgeon in Shepherdstown

"We've been treated like trash!" -- Customer Richard Hamstead in Shepherdstown

"The term "customer" implies we have made a choice to purchase electricity from Potomac Edison.  We are not customers, we are ratepayers." -- Customer Patience Wait in Shepherdstown

"It is clear that FirstEnergy’s allegiance is to the almighty dollar, not its West Virginia customers." -- Customer Keryn Newman in Shepherdstown

"The PSC said I should have been arrested for stealing electricity."  -- Customer Sonny Spurgeon in Shepherdstown

"Seniors have been asked to read their own meters in horrible weather."  -- Maryland Potomac Edison Customer Doug Kaplan

"This company is no longer our local electric company and needs better public relations and communication with the public."  -- Berkely Co. Commissioner Elaine Mauck in Shepherdstown

Customer Amanda Newcome is outraged by Potomac Edison's customer service reps. who don't care, act like she doesn't have an issue, and don't want to help her.

Customer Mike Nemec has spent 30 minutes on the phone just trying to call in a meter reading.

Customer Lucinda Harden:  Tried to call Potomac Edison but got put on hold so long she gave up.  She can’t hold the phone that long.  In August, she tried to speak to "the complaint dept." but was told they have no complaint dept.  Talked with someone named Camille, who sent her to supervisor Kim, who was a "nasty lady."  Was told, "we're playing catch up in June" and in July she must have used more electricity than what was needed because they estimated off the month before.  She was transferred to Wendy from floor support, who put her on a payment plan so she could pay the bill.  Wendy wanted her to go read the meter, and she did, even though she is disabled and it was difficult to do.  They want her to read the meter every month from now on.  They sent her a detailed account history from July 2012 – July 2013, which only had 3 actual readings.  She has never seen a meter reader since Potomac Edison took over.

2.      It's not about the storms!


It is about a 5-letter word, but that word is "greed," not "storm." -- Customer Kery Fries in Shepherdstown

Storms are foreseeable, Potomac Edison should be adequately staffed to plan for them.

"It must be new if meter readers go out for downed wires.  I'm a volunteer fireman and I never saw a meter reader come for downed wires." -- Customer Kevin Borher in Shepherdstown

3.    FirstEnergy is not adequately staffed to provide customer service. 

"Most offensive is the suggestion from FE that customers should call in their meters.  It’s not the ratepayers job – it is built into the rates and billing that they will do their job.  I wonder whether there has been a business decision to keep meter readers at a low level and shift burden to ratepayers to save money.  In the grocery store we have a choice of full-serve or self-serve checkout.  Here we don’t have the choice.  Has there been an effort to change billing to save money for the company?" -- Delegate Stephen Skinner in Shepherdstown

Meter reading staff in Jefferson County cut to 5 after merger.

Todd Meyers says it takes 3 weeks to train a meter reader.  If meter readers are being used to restore power, what job are they doing? 

Potomac Edison has been hiring temporary meter readers.  Once the investigation goes away, will the temporary meter readers be let go?

Gene Hutzler has made numerous requests for the company to trim vegetation interfering with lines, but nothing has been done.

"FirstEnergy is a union-buster." -- Customer Danny Lutz in Shepherdstown

"It's not our job to read meters, it is our job to pay the bill!" -- Customer Meredith Wait in Shepherdstown

4.    FirstEnergy's customer usage data is hopelessly skewed due to numerous estimates and attempts to tweak the estimation routine that have caused even more inaccurate data.

"I have a bill with 5 consecutive estimates since April." -- Customer George Rutherford in Shepherdstown

"I'm getting two bills every month.  Something is wrong here." -- Customer Janet Jeffries in Shepherdstown

"8 out of 13 bills have been estimated – April, May, June were estimates.  February said no usage at all.  What does this do to future estimated readings when there is so many estimates?" -- Customer Sharon Wilson in Shepherdstown

5.    FirstEnergy's merger has hurt customers.


" A mistake on FirstEnergy’s part should not become an 'emergency' on our part. There’s no reason customers should be asked to put up with this kind of incompetence, especially when the company continually ties its excuses to merger activity. All of this has come at a great cost to customers.  Now it’s time for FirstEnergy to shoulder some of the financial burden it has created."  -- Customer Keryn Newman in Shepherdstown

"How can we set budgets for small businesses with these inconsistent bills?  This is hurting businesses." -- Customer Meredith Wait in Shepherdstown

"This is not a game, not a numbers problem, it’s a human problem.  People are suffering – you all go home to a warm house and a meal.  Think hard about it.  I'm tired of corporate crap – you need to care about people." -- Customer Laurie Scott in Shepherdstown

Walter & Gerri Seager of Damascus, Maryland, on their second home in Harmon, WV:  They have paid an electric bill every month for the past 14 months, most of which were estimated, and then about a month ago got a bill for more than $5,300.  They brought in 3 master electricians to make sure nothing is wrong in their house, and nothing is wrong.  The bill still averages more than $500/month for a home that is only used several days a month by 2 people and has non-electric heat and hot water.  Something is wrong at the electric company, not at the Seager's end.
 
There were numerous suggestions for the PSC:

1.    At company expense, read meters monthly for at least one year to gather accurate data for future estimates.  -- Customers Fries, Hamstead, Wait, Newman, Hutzler, Kaplan, Mauck, Rutherford, Skinner, Wilson, Nemec, and others.

2.    Privatize meter reading services so that failure to perform service does not produce financial benefit for FirstEnergy.  -- Customer Kery Fries in Shepherdstown

3.    $5.00 customer charge should be explained on every bill, and any amounts not used to read meters as required should be refunded to customers.

4.    PSC and Consumer Advocate must zealously guard against abuse by monopolies in West Virginia's regulated environment.

"There is no excuse for this kind of abuse of captive customers in a regulated environment." -- Customer Keryn Newman in Shepherdstown

5.    Require FirstEnergy to take actual readings for new customers for one year.  They should not be allowed to estimated based on prior customer usage.

6.    FirstEnergy should provide rebates to customers who read their own meters or go "paperless."  These customer actions currently save the company money, not the customers.

7.    Why don't we have smart meters?

"Why is it we still have horse & buggy meters?  Why not digital meters?  Why not smart meters?" -- Customer Duane Thompson in Shepherdstown

8.    Anyone calling Potomac Edison should receive a follow-up letter with a postage-paid return post card addressed to the PSC for rating the service received.

9.    The PSC should hold general public hearings in 4 different quadrants of the state yearly to hear from the public and improve communication and service.


At the hearing, the PSC shooed the customers with the most shocking stories to FirstEnergy's "customer service" area backstage.  I've been asked by a reporter if that was effective -- aside from the one gentleman who could be heard yelling from that area after he disappeared and was told by the police to stop harassing Potomac Edison personnel, and my own personal experience, I don't know.  If you visited the "customer service" reps. and have a story to tell, let me know.

Potomac Edison also had a story to tell the PSC, complete with Power Point presentation.

Ken Strah, the estimating guy, said they have adjusted their estimation algorithm to not perpetuate last year’s bad estimates, and implemented enhancements to the estimation process to better predict usage of estimated bills (but customer testimony proved that’s not working, as incorrect estimates continue).

Jim Painter, the meter reading guy, said the company will “focus on minimizing estimates” but snow will prevent them from reading meters (more excuses, YAY!)  They are still looking at their estimation routine with EPRI and should be done in December. 

Meanwhile, the company continues public outreach – "Call us!"  You need to call them to continue THEIR public outreach?  FirstEnergy advised everyone to get on their Average Payment Plan to smooth out the company’s estimation errors.

WV Operations Director Holly Kauffman says the company has shown “continuous improvement.”  She never said the word "merger" once, although that seems to be the source of all these problems.  Holly says she is committed to customers.  Where has Holly been?  Where was Holly at the Citizens' Public Hearing back in May?  She received her own personal invitation, which she completely ignored.  Holly is useless fluff.

FirstEnergy's corporate counsel, Gary Jack, pretended all this information from his company is completely fascinating.  Like he hadn't had a hand in putting the excuses together?  The funniest part -- his studious concentration was repeated on the second day!

The company claims that meter readers “investigate” outages and standby until crews arrive.  Has anyone ever see this happen?  I've driven by plenty of downed wires over the past couple of years and NEVER saw a meter reader onsite.

FirstEnergy says it has added a floater position for meter reading to deal with life's little realities.  Is that one for each operating company?

FirstEnergy admits that in December, 28% of customers had back-to-back estimates.  Complaints peaked in April and June of this year, but their PowerPoint graph still showed complaint numbers higher than "normal."

FirstEnergy said it "can’t rest on its laurels."  What???  What "laurels" would those be?

FirstEnergy says it will evaluate additional criteria to flag estimates that need review before bills are sent.  But you can call in actual meter readings on months scheduled for estimated readings or enter actual readings using the companies’ website (because they don't intend to do their job?)

I would like to know how these monthly statistical reports to the PSC help customers?  The company missed readings for a whole bunch of invented reasons – when are they just going to man up and apologize?

I think the PSC got an earful.  Let's hope they will now take the initiative to regulate FirstEnergy.
9 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!
3 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.
2 Comments

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

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.
4 Comments

FirstEnergy Customer Education Community Meetings Across West Virginia This Week

10/12/2013

0 Comments

 
The Coalition for Reliable Power, the Jefferson County NAACP and The Mountain Institute are partnering to host three educational meetings for Potomac Edison and Mon Power customers across the state this week.

The meetings are a prelude to the WV Public Service Commission public comment hearings on meter reading and billing practices of the FirstEnergy affiliate companies scheduled for October 23-25.

The educational meetings are designed to:

1.    Bring you up to speed on the PSC's General Investigation.

2.    Inform you about the structure, process and participation at the public hearings.

3.    Explain a typical FirstEnergy electric bill and how you can become a proactive customer to protect yourself from future billing problems.  Bring a copy of your most recent bill so you can participate in our group exercise to find out how to calculate exactly how much you should owe, and what to do when your bill isn't accurate.

4.    Provide an opportunity to ask questions and share your concerns with others who may be experiencing the same issues.

Listen in on Monday morning, October 14, at 9:45 a.m. when the Coalition's Keryn Newman will be discussing the upcoming meetings on WRNR Talk Radio.

And be sure to attend the meeting closest to you!

Charles Town, WV
October 16, 6:30 p.m., Fishermen Hall, Corner of South West and Academy streets 

Morgantown, WV
October 16, 6:00 p.m., Morgantown Public Library, 373 Spruce Street

Arnoldsburg, WV
October 17, 7:00 p.m., Arnoldsburg Community Building, Arnoldsburg

See you then!
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    About the Author

    Keryn Newman blogs here at StopPATH WV about energy issues, transmission policy, misguided regulation, our greedy energy companies and their corporate spin.
    In 2008, AEP & Allegheny Energy's PATH joint venture used their transmission line routing etch-a-sketch to draw a 765kV line across the street from her house. Oooops! And the rest is history.

    About
    StopPATH Blog

    StopPATH Blog began as a forum for information and opinion about the PATH transmission project.  The PATH project was abandoned in 2012, however, this blog was not.

    StopPATH Blog continues to bring you energy policy news and opinion from a consumer's point of view.  If it's sometimes snarky and oftentimes irreverent, just remember that the truth isn't pretty.  People come here because they want the truth, instead of the usual dreadful lies this industry continues to tell itself.  If you keep reading, I'll keep writing.


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