[TChris]

These "fees" are nothing more than increased taxes coming through the backdoor of, and being collected by, the utilities, and have nothing to do with whether the utilities are monopolies.

That's probably true. However, these highly regulated monopolies have all figured out some ingenious ways of getting the $$ they want. One way is to set up leasing companies to buy equipment which is then leased to the utility. The leases show up as increased operating expenses which justify increased rates when they go before the Public Service/Utility Commisions.

Both lib government folks and greedy utility managers have their eyes on your wallet and mine.

[Boot Hill]

"One way is to set up leasing companies to buy equipment which is then leased to the utility. The leases show up as increased operating expenses which justify increased rates..."

The practice you suggest would not be the result of the monopoly status of the utility. That would be the fault of the PUC for allowing such a shady practice to exist, and PUC's typically have a very heavy citizen (i.e., tax payer, rate payer) input. If I was invested in a public utility (or any other type of industry, for that matter), I would vote to dump any board of directors that weren't "greedy". I want the BOD "greedy", profit is the business of business.

--Boot Hill