ComEd's poverty claims don't make sense. Is their business so poorly run that from December until January suddenly they lose $4,000,000 a day? Doesn't Exelon generate power? Sounds fishy to me, but maybe I don't understand the nuance of power utility deregulation as well as an Enron executive would.
ComEd warns of fight in rate freeze | Chicago Tribune Commonwealth Edison executives said Monday that they would challenge Illinois' proposed electricity rate freeze in court, and, if necessary, would file for bankruptcy to protect it from financial ruin. No one is predicting the lights will go out, but ComEd said that if rates are frozen, the utility would lose $4 million a day, and its corporate parent, Exelon Corp., would not bail it out....Backers of the freeze, including Speaker Michael Madigan, want to shield ComEd customers from a 22 percent increase in electric charges, and as much as a 55 percent increase for consumers in other parts of the state served by Ameren Corp.
ComEd and Illinois political leaders are locked in a battle resulting from the surprise end to a decade-long march toward utility deregulation, in which new competition from power generators failed to materialize. As a result, when Illinois held its first auction to obtain electricity, the price for ComEd came in 22 percent higher than current rates.
Consumers will start to see that increase this month unless Illinois legislators pass the rate freeze or agree to a compromise, which some analysts believe is possible.
What a fool I was when I voted for energy deregulation in Greater Los Angeles. I thought, wrongly so, we could have cheaper rates. Instead we got Enron and a big F-U from the soon to take oath el presidente. I'll never forget the front page of the Los Angeles Times, 1/20/01: "California's problems are California's to solve." So said the Unifier.
I have been counting the days ever since. This has been the saddest time for me since the juntas in Brazil.