"National Grid seeks rate hike; Average bill would rise $5 to pay for upgrades" by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | May 16, 2009
Some Massachusetts electricity customers will get a small jolt when they open their electric bills next year.
National Grid, the Bay State's largest electric utility with 1.2 million customers, wants to increase rates and use the projected $111 million in additional revenue to upgrade its electrical distribution system and pay other expenses, such as a large amount of unpaid customers' bills. The higher rate would increase bills by about $5 a month for a typical household that uses around 600 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.
We know you are already struggling, but....
Here is my solution: turn the lights off and find something else to do.
You get my meaning? Ah, maybe you will in about nine months.
"It's never a good time to raise rates," said Tom King, president of National Grid's US business. But "it's critical that we continue to have the ability to upgrade the aging infrastructure in the state of Massachusetts."
In its filing to state regulators, the company asked to increase its distribution and other delivery charges, a key component of electric bills, by more than 16 percent starting Jan. 1. It also asked regulators for permission to add a surcharge to the fee it charges for the raw cost of electricity.
Sounds like a pumping, if you know what I mean.
Attorney General Martha Coakley, who represents electricity ratepayers in utility cases, slammed National Grid's attempt to raise rates in the midst of a recession....
Yeah, but it is OKAY to INCREASE TAXES!!!
The ABOMINABLE STENCH of HYPOCRISY does not go unnoticed here!
In sticking with my theme, it's like a fart (or worse) during sex!
But even with the price increase, National Grid's distribution rates will still be less than what Massachusetts' other big utility, NStar, charges....
Why is the pro-corporate paper making excuses for the energy company?
Under energy deregulation adopted in Massachusetts a decade ago, utilities such as National Grid and NStar own and operate the wires that deliver electricity to customers. Electricity generating plants, meanwhile, are now owned by separate power companies that sell their juice to utilities, which in turn pass that cost on to consumers.
Just as with the fart-misting, global-warming, carbon-taxers, all this green s*** is meant to do is allow third parties to come in and charge for a section of service.
How is the public being served by this arrangement ?
Both companies, as well as other utilities in Massachusetts, have recently said they expect to lower the power costs they pass along to ratepayers, by far the most expensive component of customers' electric bills.
You know, farting in my face is one thing, but when you actually crap at me, well, YOU GET ANGER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
Starting next year, National Grid also wants to tack on a fee.... to recoup electricity costs that it hasn't been able to collect from some delinquent customers.
Why must WE PAY to BOOST CORPORATE PROFITS after some delinquents skipped out, huh, Bay State resident? WTF?
National Grid's parent company, National Grid PLC, in London reported this week that operating profits in its US electricity distribution and generating arm fell 20 percent, to $403 million, last fiscal year, largely due to fixing damage and outages created by storms such as the severe ice storm that swept New England last December....
Translation: They are ALREADY MAKING a PROFIT and yet they want to RAISE RATES to COVER LOSSES!!! I wish I COULD DO THAT to SOMEONE, ANYONE!!!!
In the midst of a JOB-DESTROYING DEPRESSION no less!!!
In addition to the requested rate hike, National Grid said it is also trying to cut costs in Massachusetts by consolidating facilities and taking other steps to become more efficient....
My mouth is already full of you-know-what, s***ters!
--more--"Yeah, right, they are raising rates to cut rates.
How 'too-pid do they t'ink we is out here
