UI Profits Soar 288%...And Accordingly So Does Milford's Forclosures!

UI had its annual conference call last week February 2008. To sum things up they whined that the economy was slow, you could not pay your bill and their losses on bogus xcelecom were disappointing.

On the party side their profit jumped 288% from 9 cents a share to 35 Cents a share! This profit was achieved by those of you who are paying your bills. They are anxiously waiting to fire up their pollution factories formerly known as the "filthy Five" and the "Sooty Seven" to increase their profits even more perversely.

As they increase their mega profits, the Connecticut Post today noted that Milford's pre-forclosures are up from 50 last month to 166 this month. The front page of the finance section bears concern of stagflation. But don't worry UI's Executives are also concerned about the economy, it has held their profits back to only 288% when they should have been more than that. The awful truth, if I may add a little sarcasm, is that purchasing candles has become a much cheaper lighting source than electric. This may now become even more relevant as the 2009 future prediction by UI's executives greedily boast double digit profit projections. I predict more people will be "breaking a sweat" flipping a light switch and/or acting out against family members who do not shut off lights.

I am absolutely baffled by the quote of Rich who said "Continuing operations for the fourth quarter are up nicely 35 Cents a share compared to 9 cents a share in 2006." I am absolutely speechless that this company was allowed to conduct itself in the economically oppressive manner that it has. This is an outrage and I am appalled that the DPUC has no control over the menacing profit of a public utility company.

Amazingly, they even succeeded in bilking the IRS out of 21 Million Dollars! Listen to the entire conference call because I am disappointed that in spite of the fact that this company has been given a new power grid, overcharged us with fraudulent meters, was given a 90% increase in just 7 years, killed parakeets, razed the landscape, devalued homes, and is now planning to poison our air in Milford come 2009, that DPUC continues to ignore the fact that people are losing their homes and need a break!

The conference call speaks for itself! Also the beginning of the broadcast is blank air time scroll to the middle of the feed for the conference call to begin.

Listen by clicking here.

United Illuminating makes a Power Deal.

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.