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Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC) to reconsider its August 23, 2004 decision on Duquesne Light Company's supply plan by amending its Order to approve the Duquesne Light supply plan to insure that Western Pennsylvania continues to receive reliable energy at reasonable and predictable rates.
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WHEREAS, in 1997, the State Legislature authorized deregulation of the electric industry as a means to insure that residents and businesses of the Commonwealth received reliable energy services at rates that were competitive through a market system; and
WHEREAS, as part of the 1997 legislation, electric companies were allowed to recover stranded costs prior to full deregulation through the approval of transition plans by the PUC that specifically outlined how costs were to be recovered, the effect on rates to customers, and a date by which such transition would be complete;
WHEREAS, through proactive actions on the part of Duquesne Light Company, stranded costs have been recovered well in advance of the 2010 timeline that other power companies in the Commonwealth are working toward, resulting in a 20% reduction in monthly electricity costs for residential customers; however, guidelines for the post-transition period have not yet been promulgated by the PUC; and
WHEREAS, Duquesne Light Company submitted its plan for providing service to its customers from 2005 through 2010; a plan that included a fixed rate for residential and small business customers through 2010 and two options for commercial and industrial customers - a fixed rate based on a request for proposal and an hourly price service; and
WHEREAS, the PUC's decision was to reject the plan and allow three years of fixed rates for residential and small business customers and only 17 months of a fixed price for commercial and industrial customers, effectively pushing those customer out into a market that only Western Pennsylvania will be participating in; and
WHEREAS, such a decision can have far-reaching effects in this community in that commercial and industrial customers may move production to other regions or states, residential customers will be faced with higher prices because of the volatility of the market, and efforts to grow the economy can be hindered by such unstableness; and
WHEREAS, decisions on deregulation of the electric industry were made with the belief that participation in an open market would be of benefit to all consumers; however, a decision to force a limited number of consumers in southwestern Pennsylvania into that market without full state-wide deregulation is beneficial only to electric suppliers and not the residents of this Commonwealth.
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:
We urge the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC) to reconsider its August 23, 2004 decision on Duquesne Light Company's supply plan by amending its Order to approve the Duquesne Light supply plan to insure that Western Pennsylvania continues to receive reliable energy at reasonable and predictable rates.