Alabama Power seeks rate increase

[RunInRed 16,994]

Alabama Power Co. is asking the Public Service Commission for permission to raise its rates by 14.6 percent for residential customers beginning Oct. 9.

That would be an increase of $16.45 per month for a typical residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

Rates also would go up for commercial and industrial customers of Alabama Power, which has about 1.4 million customers statewide.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/08/alabam...rate_incre.html

Alright Bob Riley, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

That is nuts. My rates are already 30% higher here than they were in Tennessee. During the summer when an average home is pulling down more like 3000 kwh in a month, that's $50 more a month.

Crazy.

[MDM4AU 337]

Let the PSC and the legislature know what you think.

http://www.psc.state.al.us/

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/

And for the record: While Riley may be a Republican, the Democrats out number the Republicans nearly 60/40 in the House and somewhere around 65/35 in the senate in Montgomery. 2 of the 3 PSC commissioners are Democrats including Susan Parker who has tried to unseat Sessions in Washington.

[Magnum Opus 0]

Alright Bob Riley, alright Republicans in the state legislature, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

Hmm... what's wrong with this statement? You are calling for leadership from Republicans when the Alabama Senate is comprised of a mere 13 Republicans and 22 Democrats, and the House is comprised of 42 Republicans and 62 Democrats. The Dimocrats have a majority in both House and Senate, obvious to even those with the most rudimentary math skills, but I guess that doesn't matter if your grasp on rational reality is hydroplaning down the kool-aid slicked road to ruin.

[OldNewby 27]

Let the PSC and the legislature know what you think.

http://www.psc.state.al.us/

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/

And for the record: While Riley may be a Republican, the Democrats out number the Republicans nearly 60/40 in the House and somewhere around 65/35 in the senate in Montgomery. 2 of the 3 PSC commissioners are Democrats including Susan Parker who has tried to unseat Sessions in Washington.

Bears repeating!

[RunInRed 16,994]

The buck stops with Riley.

[Tigermike 3,427]

The buck stops with Riley.

So says the sanctimonious little Pharisee.

[MDM4AU 337]

Nice edit.

Tuesday's Post

Alright Bob Riley, alright Republicans in the state legislature, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

Thursday's Post after calling out the Democratically controlled Legislature and PSC.

Alright Bob Riley, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

Same old politics from the cheif bobo honker of Captain Hope and Change.

[Tigermike 3,427]

Nice edit.

Tuesday's Post

Alright Bob Riley, alright Republicans in the state legislature, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

Thursday's Post after calling out the Democratically controlled Legislature and PSC.

Alright Bob Riley, it's time for some leadership. 14.6% increase -- that is ridiculous.

Same old politics from the cheif bobo honker of Captain Hope and Change.

Good pick up MDM.

MDM, I have a question. Is the Public Service Commission (all elected officials), under the authority of Governor Riley? Yes I know that the governor is the "head of the state'. But does his authority override the rulings of the Public Service Commission?

[bigsixfive 336]

Electricity should be high. It needs to be higher. We should be pursuing alternative forms of energy. Maybe when all of Obama's electric cars hit the grid, the current energy system will fail and force us to use alternative methods.

[Tigermike 3,427]

Electricity should be high. It needs to be higher. We should be pursuing alternative forms of energy. Maybe when all of Obama's electric cars hit the grid, the current energy system will fail and force us to use alternative methods.

Going with that thought, when all those electric cars hit the streets the recharging stations, what will that do to the cost of electricity? Supply and demand are what push prices aren't they?

[MDM4AU 337]

I emailed all the PSC commissioners and got a response this morning from Susan Parker.

MDM, Thank you for your input regarding proposed increase by Alabama Power. The proposed rate is for fuel costs only. The company will make no profit from this. Costs of coal and natural gas have more than tripled in the past two years and therefore, some increase is merited. I do not feel 14.6% is necessary at this time and will do all I can to make it less.

Regarding advertising, the PSC declared several years ago that the company could not advertise. The company went to court and the Supreme court ruled they could (using as the rationale that the gas company is a competitor, as it is in some areas-you can chose gas heat/cooling, cooking, dryer, water heater, etc.). The current situation with advertising is they can write off ½ the cost to the rate payer and the rest has to come from the stockholders. Also ½ of the cost of the rate payer is for safety.

We will have a public hearing on Sept 23 here at the RSA Union building. I will know more at that time. Thanks, Susan Parker