FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeanne K. Clark
June
26, 1998 412/421-6072
Pittsburgh, June 26 – The
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) vote today to reconsider its
earlier decision on the proposed merger of Duquesne Light and Allegheny Power
is alarming, according to Citizen Power, a Western Pennsylvania consumer and
environmental watchdog group.
David Hughes, Executive Director of Citizen Power
said, “If the backroom, business as usual politics that we’ve uncovered within
the PUC prevails, customers and competitors could be frozen out. Now that independent PUC Commissioner John
Hanger has been replaced by a political appointee, the PUC will now
‘reconsider’ their earlier decision, even though the Companies presented no
evidence warranting such a reconsideration.
“This merger will kill competition, kill jobs and
crush Western Pennsylvania customers with exorbitant electric rates. The original PUC decision recognized that,
and required the Companies to act to prevent it from happening.
“But the new Ridge-controlled PUC, where private communications seem to
be the norm, and ethics appear to be elastic, is re-thinking the merger
decision. We fear that they are intent
on doing the Companies’ bidding, rather than protecting Pennsylvanians.
“Despite the name-calling we’ve endured from the Companies, we will
continue our fight. The public has a
right to a fair process, and to true competition, just as they were promised by
the Governor, the legislature and the PUC.
We intend to make them keep those promises,” concluded Hughes.
Citizen Power is an officially designated Public
Interest Intervenor in the Western Pennsylvania cases on electricity
restructuring. Earlier this week,
Citizen Power and other local organizations released evidence of secret, private
and illegal communications on these cases between the PUC Chair’s office and
Duquesne Light, as well as evidence of apparent intervention on the merger case
by Gov. Tom Ridge. Citizen Power is
considering further legal action on these issues. For more information or copies of the documents referred to
above, contact Jeanne K. Clark at 412/421-6072.
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