Utilities should be owned by the public

The recent series of utility articles written by Shawn O’Leary are to be commended for their educational content.

The Feb. 16 article concerning Bangor Hydro’s most recent rate increase does, however, need some mathematical correction. As of March 1, 2000, the standard offer rate for their residential customers was 4.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is a 58.6 percent increase not 8 percent as suggested by your headline.

If you include the transmission cost, as O’Leary did, the percentage jumps from 19 percent to 26.4 percent. This changes the monthly electric bill from $83.50 to $88.50 or 6 percent more per month for Bangor Hydro customers.

Since deregulation in the year 2000, Bangor Hydro customers have gone from 14 cents per kwh, including transmission and supply, to 17.7 cents per kwh. This is a stunning 26.4 percent increase in one year. Hooray for deregulation. We are now paying the highest per kwh rate in the United States.

State statutes set forth the duties of the Public Utilities Commission and the attorney general in looking out for the interests of electric customers. Deregulation is a formula for disaster and needs to be legislated out of existence before Maine residential customers are bankrupted.

Suggestions to be considered: The PUC should set a standard offer rate for residential customers in the entire state rather than each operating utility. This will level the playing field to all bidders. All energy suppliers must bid for all electric customers, both business and residential, without discriminating as to class. AES New Energy of Maine does not bid for residential customers, thus creating a price structure which is discriminatory in the marketplace.

Maine has an excess supply of electricity, but the rule of supply and demand is not working to lower rates. In fact, our electric rates have leaped 58.6 percent in just one year. Why?

The PUC constantly states that the higher the standard offer rate means customers will be able to find a competitive supplier with lower rates. Not so. There is no choice for residential customers in Maine because there are no bidders.

The time has come for Maine legislators to return us to a publicly owned utility format. Issuing 30-year bonds to acquire this format will start our return to financial stability.

R. Boyd Thompson lives in Surry.