When city firefighters arrived at the Exit 40 off ramp on the northbound side of Interstate 95 early Wednesday, they found an overturned tractor-trailer that had taken down a utility pole, resulting in a web of live wires between them and the trapped victim.
Firefighters first believed two people were in the truck, but live wires meant they would have to risk their lives to get to it, said Fire Capt. Chris Zak.
Connecticut utility United Illuminating files rate increase application with state regulators.
"NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Electric utility The United Illuminating Co. has filed an application with Connecticut authorities seeking a rate increase. If approved by the Department of Public Utility Control, electric bills for residential customers using 700 kilowatt-hours per month will rise by about $6.60 per month. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, says he will fight the increase.
United Illuminating says it understands that rising energy costs are creating difficulties for consumers, but the company needs to increase its electricity distribution rate because of higher expenses, lower sales and increased capital costs.
Blumenthal says UI must tighten its belt and make do with less.
UI serves more than 323,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas.
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In Summary UI alleges profits are up in some areas down in others and maintain that conservation and delinquent accounts are costing them dearly. UI has also indicated that customers are more hostile and are planning or considering a system that remotely shuts off non paying customers. This will save UI money by eliminating jobs, and avoiding their hostile customers, vicious dogs, and inaccessible meters.
Conference Call Second Quarter 2008. [Click HERE] Scroll to middle of audio clip for conference call to begin. It starts after the music on hold.
Special point to add to this "shocker" is that shortly after the DPUC got slammed with this UI request our Spanish owned gas provider got caught over charging Milford for gas. They are now being forced to give us some money back, up to $9.00 per month.
The most clever profiteer in Milford is by far The United Illuminating Company who has achieved a stellar profit record for their share holders and future interests. In 2007 UI was able to circumvent the "Windfall Profits Tax", duped the CT House of Representatives with (HB 7432) by charging you "for lost profits", charging you again for a "Rebate Program", UI "Defrauded" customers with meters that overcharge, was "gifted" a brand new power grid, and most insulting of all won permission to raise our electrical rates 90% in just a few years.
With such a solid business climate you would think that UI would be satisfied, as a matter of fact they decided to do business with Energy Inc. to reopen what they call a "clean power plant" here in Milford. This partnership is with a company that owns TEN, a company that is now in court with Attorney General Blumenthal for allegations that it breached its contract and overcharged taxpayers over 14 Million Dollars. TEN even has gone so far as to attempt a disruption of power to important buildings at the State Capitol.
With such a marred controversial record, are we now to believe and trust that UI and NRG burning natural gas is "clean?" The facts indicate otherwise, as these natural gas plants will likely need to obtain their fuel from a foreign source. The North East peaked on oil and gas some time ago, and a opportunity has been created for a controversial LNG or Liquefied Natural Gas facility off the coast of CT in NY waters. Unfortunately the game is "afoot" because NY Gov. Spitzer is holding the fate of CT's waterfront. If the Gov. approves the LNG than UI scores another big victory while we the inhabitants of this state lose yet again.
Make no mistake, mining for Gas is not "Eco friendly" an LNG is not "Eco-friendly" and the billowing smoke coming out of UI's smoke stack will still create massive CO2 "greenhouse gas" emissions with reduced air quality in our town. The only thing "clean" about gas is that it puts less mercury into the environment. This comes at a huge price, the price being a "reshuffling" of environmentally destructive sources. Do not believe the news in the Milford Mirror as fact because they originate from UI press releases and connected sources. They are intended to make you feel content with their 700 Million dollar plant opening right near your home as somehow safe.
The real kicker, aside from, obvious health risks, the transport of more toxic and explosive gas and chemicals, and increased traffic congestion, is UI's demand that we pay them yet again as a reward for building a "clean" plant. UI has yet done too little to remediate the massive mercury and methylmercury problem they created just a few short years ago. To any naysayers out there, if it has a billowing smokestack it is not clean, it is as simple as that.
H.B. No. 7432 Was introduced by My opponent and Speaker of the House Jim Amann. This bill is a Dream Bill for UI our electricity nightmare company now soaking us again and again with rate hikes that defy understanding or explanation. UI's profits soared and our Speaker Amann who also opposed the "windfall Profits Tax" that Blumenthal so passionately wanted to protect Ct's consumers, also voted to soak us again on electricity.
So many of us cut down on our usage of electricity because the rates were so high. Just today my friend at the local gas station was telling me how his wife and children all sleep in one bedroom of their house to battle the unaffordable high cost of electric heat. Do our politicians care? Apparently not because House Bill 7432 punishes you the consumer for conserving electricity. It makes the little electric you do use even more ridiculously expensive by kicking back the lost profits to the Big UI energy company.
How does this outrageous practice work? Well to explain I will quote a note from the house critic of it State Rep. Robert Megna who said "customers of CL&P and UI who are conserving energy will have to pay both the $5 million annual conservation fund bonus and the additional profits section 107 provides. Needless to say" he "voted against the bill."
Representative Megna represents the 97Th district in New Haven he is a member of the Environment, Insurance and Real Estate and General Law Committees."
This is once again another slap in the face by our House Speaker and State Representatives who continues to plunder Milford's residents of their diminishing cash. Of every person I spoke to in Hartford about this bill, no one, not one representative could give me a financially beneficial reason to us the consumer. The fact remains that this bill does not help a single CT resident, it instead punishes us the consumers and rewards UI and CL&P investors with more Wall Street profit.
On October 24th, 2008 United Illuminating has made a 700 Million Dollar "power deal" with Energy Inc. This money is to be used to build power plants in Connecticut during "Peak Hours." This deal has been sent to energy regulators in Hartford's Department of Utility Control. Should Utility Control approve this plan, UI will be back in the energy generation business as early as 2009. The proposal is expected to arrive at DPUC some time next year.
This is a significant event because in the past, UI had been looking to get back into the energy generation business with little success. UI has given up its rights to generate electric back in 1999 when they saw fit to outsource all contracts in the hope of better market prices for consumers in our state. This turned out to be a failure as electric costs have spiked.
There has been much controversy in the past with in-state generation, especially with coal burning plants that have been dubbed the "Sooty Six" because of their emissions and smokestack debris that settles in local communities. These "Sooty Six" have contributed to poor air quality in CT adding to our state's other unrelated air quality issues such as ozone pollution in Fairfield County. Many people were relieved to know that in 1999 dirty carbon polluters left our state and we are now able to "breathe easier" because of it.
According to the UI press release on yahoo finance, these plants, "could be built on NRG sites in Middletown, Milford, South Norwalk or Uncasville. They would supply between 400 and 700 megawatts of power" only during peak periods to meet additional demand. This project is expected to follow the upgrade of the CT power grid of which was also blamed for high energy rates. UI alleges that CT is strained during peak energy of hot and cold periods in winter and summer, and is citing the CT law requiring them to deliver the "juice."
Rep. Steve Fontana, co-chairman of the Connecticut General Assembly's Energy and Technology Committee, said the legislation was a compromise. It was Mr. Fontanas intent to return CT to the Generation business but he could not convince the Legislature to agree with him.
Personally, my feelings are distrustful toward UI, this is because UI was already found guilty of installing faulty meters that overcharged their customers, and offered little relief to businesses. Richard Blumenthal, fearing a repeat of a Enron like fiasco, also sought to keep the power brokers in check by proposing a "Windfall Profits Tax" unfortunately Speaker Jim Amann sided with UI and opposed the windfall profits tax. This was a measure that in my opinion betrayed consumers, and protected the Energy giant UI. Ultimately the Bloomenthal proposal was killed before it ever had a chance to prove itself. Now UI suddenly has 700 Million dollars to buy a new plant. To shed light on the significance of this figure, that equates to $2,300.00 for every one of UI's customers. Yet UI continues to claim they cannot lower our electric rates rates; not even for the poor and old.
Since the large rate hikes took place, many business's have actually cited the excessive cost of electric as a reason to leave our state, or just close down. Currently CT has among the highest electric rates in America and business's suffer because of it. This aside there is no mention of how these plants will produce energy.
The big question is, are they CO2 emitting smog factories, nuclear nightmares, or another compelling reason to park a massive LNG barge out in the Long Island Sound? These questions must be asked and answered. Connecticut has done everything possible to get our electric rates down and yet they still remain unconscionably high.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell was shocked when she discovered that Connecticut Light & Power followed Ui and has requested yet another rate increase for one million electricity customers. This new proposal demands a 4.6 percent rate hike beginning on January 1, 2008. So far electric rates have recklessly risen 90 percent over the last seven years. This increase outpaces inflation, the CPI, and worker wage increases.
For now I recommend that everyone tune in to UI's conference call on November 2nd, or contact their HQ to find out what the consequences and environmental hazards this new found generation is going to impose. Also, and most importantly, now that CT's taxpayers did everything in their power to build the grid correctly, when are we going to see our rates reduced? I will report again on this issue as more news develops.
This short video is to remind us again of the consumer cry for help.
When city firefighters arrived at the Exit 40 off ramp on the northbound side of Interstate 95 early Wednesday, they found an overturned tractor-trailer that had taken down a utility pole, resulting in a web of live wires between them and the trapped victim.
The most clever profiteer in Milford is by far The United Illuminating Company who has achieved a stellar profit record for their share holders and future interests. In 2007 UI was able to circumvent the "Windfall Profits Tax", duped the CT House of Representatives with (HB 7432) by charging you "for lost profits", charging you again for a "Rebate Program", UI "Defrauded" customers with meters that overcharge, was "gifted" a brand new power grid, and most insulting of all won permission to raise our electrical rates 90% in just a few years.
health risks, the transport of more toxic and explosive gas and chemicals, and increased traffic congestion, is UI's demand that we pay them yet again as a reward for building a "clean" plant. UI has yet done too little to remediate the massive mercury and methylmercury problem they created just a few short years ago. To any naysayers out there, if it has a billowing smokestack it is not clean, it is as simple as that.
who said "customers of CL&P and UI who are conserving energy will have to pay both the $5 million annual conservation fund bonus and the additional profits section 107 provides. Needless to say" he "voted against the bill."
