Beaver
County Times & Allegheny Times 04/09/2006 Duquesne
Light asks for rate hike Stephanie
Waite, Times Business Editor
PITTSBURGH
- Duquesne Light Co. on Friday asked the state Public Utility Commission to
approve its first base rate increase since 1988, a move that would take
customers' bills back to prederegulation levels.
The review of the rate increase request, which will include opportunities for
public comment, is expected to take nine months. If approved, new rates would
probably go into effect in early January 2007.
The rate request covers distribution and transmission costs, not the cost of
electricity itself. Those costs are fixed through 2007 for customers who buy
their electricity from Duquesne Light.
The proposed rate hike illustrates the failure of deregulation in Pennsylvania,
said David Hughes of Citizen Power, a Pittsburgh-based energy advocacy organization.
Deregulation seemed like a success in 2002 when Duquesne Light cut its rates by
16 percent after selling its power plants and paying off stranded costs from
the building of Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport. The idea
was that competitors then would enter the electric business and keep consumers'
costs down.
"We didn't get what we were promised," Hughes said. "We still
have monopolies. ... If there were real competition, chances are Duquesne Light
couldn't come in with a proposed increase."
Competition isn't realistic for the electric business, which requires big
capital investments and offers a low profit margin per kilowatt hour, Hughes
said.
The PUC filing includes a request for substantial increases in funding for
Duquesne Light's Customer Assistance Program, so that low-income customers'
monthly bills should be essentially unchanged.
Hughes said his group will be reviewing the request but noted that utilities
typically ask for more than they expect will be approved.
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006 |