Why are Utilities wanting more $$?

[BlueHaya]

SC utility files for 9.5 percent rate hike - Yahoo! Finance


I have seen a few of these over the last couple of months. I remember seeing one where customers were getting 7% discount...might have been Indiana?

Why are commisions approving rate increases when times are so tough for so many peolpe right now? The SC is not approved yet, but more than liekly will be.

 

[Commuta_Busa]

because they need/want more money. Times are tough for people but not as tough for Government.

 

[Mr Bogus]

because they need/want more money. Times are tough for people but not as tough for Government.

yea the govt makes twice what the oil/gas companies do on fuel.. (without the risk no less)

 

[MET]

It is only going to get worse once the Carbon credits kick in. Electricity will be higher expecially on coal burning power plants.

 

[twotonevert]

Utilities have little to do with government unless you are talking about the PUC's or FERC. Utilities are asking for more money because they often are operating in the red. Most public utilities operate on borrowed money. Sorry, just a fact. In Oklahoma, it is against the law for us to charge our customers more for fuel that what we pay for it. The fuel market is always fluctuating, therefore if the rates are set at 2 cents for cost and we are actually paying 4 cents, we cant adjust the rates without a rate case. Many factors play into the rate case, customer service and complaints, tree trimming, outage frequency and durations, employee to customer ratios, etc.
I cant speak for de-regulated markets because we are still regulated, but I can tell that the utility I work for is not making boat loads of money, we cut the budgets every year and I am just thankful to have a job.

 

[twotonevert]

It is only going to get worse once the Carbon credits kick in. Electricity will be higher expecially on coal burning power plants.

You are not kidding. The problem is we are going to fined because we do not meet the new clean coal regulations, but at the same time, the technology to accomplish this is still being developed or does not exist.

We could have abundant energy with Nuke plants, but the public cries out if you even mention nukes.

 

[SANDFLEA85]

I work for PECO, the utility themselves cant just make a rate increase,its all dictated by the PUC and usually already mapped out for years to come. I know Peco spends lots of time and money to find ways NOT to raise rates for customers. its not as simple as the utility waking up one morning and saying,"im gonna raise rates" like some may think,in this area this is the first year in the last 7yrs there has been a rate increase. the utility gets hit as well with higher fees for generating,transmitting and distributing.

 

[SANDFLEA85]

You are not kidding. The problem is we are going to fined because we do not meet the new clean coal regulations, but at the same time, the technology to accomplish this is still being developed or does not exist.

We could have abundant energy with Nuke plants, but the public cries out if you even mention nukes.

a nuclear plant cost 13billion dollars to build,and a big financial risk in building it,there are nukes out there that were built but never comissioned.Companys arent taking the risk to build any more,now windmills are the future

 

[SANDFLEA85]

It is only going to get worse once the Carbon credits kick in. Electricity will be higher expecially on coal burning power plants.

closing 2 coal burning plants this year, getting away from it all together

 

[twotonevert]

I work for PECO, the utility themselves cant just make a rate increase,its all dictated by the PUC and usually already mapped out for years to come. I know Peco spends lots of time and money to find ways NOT to raise rates for customers. its not as simple as the utility waking up one morning and saying,"im gonna raise rates" like some may think,in this area this is the first year in the last 7yrs there has been a rate increase. the utility gets hit as well with higher fees for generating,transmitting and distributing.

Exactly. Also a factor, reliability measures are often funded by what are called "riders". If a utility is struggling with outages, they may ask for a rider that would increase all rate payers bills say one dollar a month for example. This would fund tree trimming, new equipment, Grid Smart technology, etc. But, the case has to be made and heard and approved by the PUC. It is not a simple process and usually takes a year to prepare.

 

[twotonevert]

closing 2 coal burning plants this year, getting away from it all together

Coal is one of the most abundant fuels we have. Natural gas is second. Pulverized coal is much cleaner than the ealier methods used. But the whole, coal is bad for us is a hype. We spend millions making sure we have clean burning plants. The problem with global warming and ozone could be true, but not only do we have to make sure we are clean with our power generation, other countries must do the same. Do you think Peru or Venezuela has an EPA?

 

[BlueHaya]

Wind Power.....it's renewable and after turbine set-up is basically free.
Solar...free after install
Wave Motion...free after install

I am against nuclear because of the waste. It may burn clean, but you get some nasty leftovers....plus possiblity of meltdowns.
Coal is what we have around here....cheap, but too smoky. Alot of work to be done making them efficient.
Natural Gas...probalby what our coal plants will be burning soon....but does not solve the environment issues.

 

[twotonevert]

a nuclear plant cost 13billion dollars to build,and a big financial risk in building it,there are nukes out there that were built but never comissioned.Companys arent taking the risk to build any more,now windmills are the future

I cant argue this fact. Nuke plants are astronomical in price compared to other generation platforms. However, wind is renewable, but not practical. Natural gas is too cheap to make it cost effective. Look at Pickens and his wind farm plan, our company fully endorsed and supported the project, now in the toilet.

 

[SANDFLEA85]

Wind Power.....it's renewable and after turbine set-up is basically free.
Solar...free after install
Wave Motion...free after install

I am against nuclear because of the waste. It may burn clean, but you get some nasty leftovers....plus possiblity of meltdowns.
Coal is what we have around here....cheap, but too smoky. Alot of work to be done making them efficient.
Natural Gas...probalby what our coal plants will be burning soon....but does not solve the environment issues.

the problem with wind power is location,you cant just pop up a windmill anywhere, esp in a city. the expense of building new transmission systems for a windmill 100s of miles away is astronomical!!! almost as much as building a Nuke.PECO anounced it was dumping a couple billion into the Nukes it has now and holding off on investing in wind power for now........wait,is that insider trading info

 

[BlueHaya]

West Texas is full of the wind farms now. But like you say, they are slowing down and actually halting in some areas the installation of them.

It is amazing how much $$ is paid to the landowners for wind rights.

 

[twotonevert]

West Texas is full of the wind farms now. But like you say, they are slowing down and actually halting in some areas the installation of them.

It is amazing how much $$ is paid to the landowners for wind rights.

LOL, wish I big ole chunck of land out there. We have a new wind farm in OK, but it only accounts for less than 3% of total generation.

 

[skydivr]

Problem also with wind is STORAGE of the energy. Wind has peaks and valleys in generating; They still have problems harnessing the power generated during peak times and using it when it's needed.

 

[twotonevert]

Problem also with wind is STORAGE of the energy. Wind has peaks and valleys in generating; They still have problems harnessing the power generated during peak times and using it when it's needed.

One thing about electricity, it is the only commodity that is made at the exact instant it is used. Well, that used to be true. We are currently testing batteries at a substation in the eastern part of our system. They very large but can store enough electricty to power several hundred homes for a few hours. As technology advances, we may very well be able to generate via wind farms, store power, and then distribute it as need. I love this industry.

 

[Vonderbach]

Nuclear Economics | Economics of Nuclear Power | Nuclear Costs

Sorry, but nuclear power is the best solution. We have come a LONG way since 3mile island and Chernobyl. I don't credit the French for much, but when it comes to power generation, they're light years ahead of the United States in both common sense and pollution control.

We continue to burn coal because it is cheap, bottom line.

 

[twotonevert]

Nuclear Economics | Economics of Nuclear Power | Nuclear Costs

Sorry, but nuclear power is the best solution. We have come a LONG way since 3mile island and Chernobyl. I don't credit the French for much, but when it comes to power generation, they're light years ahead of the United States in both common sense and pollution control.

We continue to burn coal because it is cheap, bottom line.

You got it bro!