Washington power company raises rates to cover increased expense due to climate legislation—AG's office instructs them not to tell consumers reason for higher prices

Post millennial ^ | Ari Hoffman

[NoLibZone]

A Washington utility company jacked its rates on residents as a result of the Democrat-passed cap-and-trade program, but was prohibited from informing its customers as to the reason why, according to a new report.

The Center Square reported that the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved a request by Puget Sound Energy earlier this month to raise its natural gas rates to cover the costs of Washington’s cap-and-trade program, part of the Climate Commitment Act, which was passed by the Democrat-controlled state legislature and signed into law by Democrat Governor Jay Inslee.

However, the UTC mandated that Puget Sound Energy (PSE), which serves approximately 800,000 customers in six counties, was not permitted to inform customers in their bills as to why there was a rate increase. According to the outlet, the decision was a recommendation from the office of Washington State Attorney General, Democrat Bob Ferguson.

PSE informed the UTC that it required a 3.25 percent increase for all natural gas customers in order to generate the $16.8 million to cover its losses, meaning that a typical household using 64 therms per month would see an increase of $3.71 per month or 3.89 percent. The increase would be done using a State Carbon Reduction Charge.

According to Todd Myers, environmental director for the Washington Policy Center, Inslee’s Department of Ecology previously stated that adding a tax on CO2 emissions would reduce natural gas prices. He cited Kathy Taylor, the department’s Air Quality Program Manager, who wrote a letter to Senator Shelly Short claiming that at an allowance price of $41 per metric ton of CO2, the price of “natural gas would decrease by about 1 percent.”

This is a clear refutation of the bizarre claim from @EcologyWA that increasing taxes on natural gas would cause prices to go down.

That never made sense, and yet department staff put that claim in a letter to legislators last year. UTC commissioners made clear that projection…

In a July 3 letter, Assistant Attorney General Nina Suetake told the UTC that her office (Public Counsel) was “also concerned with PSE’s proposal to itemize the State Carbon Reduction Charge and State Carbon Reduction Credit on customer bills. If all program-specific charges were included as line items, customer bills would quickly become incomprehensible. We believe the issue of whether to itemize these charges and credits on bills requires more discussion in upcoming workshops to ensure that the itemization would add to customer understanding and experience, rather than unnecessarily complicate utility bills.”

[protoconservative]

Then do it in SEC filings and issue a press release, spend 100k on some radio ads. Let everyone know why rates are insane, they are a legislature not a master. Next time no body for the state will comment.

[Mouton]

I remember reading somewhere: when in the course of human events…. I think we have reached that point, actually exceeded it.

[Made In The USA]

Dumb policies from stupid officials causing a financial burden on the proles... no, they can’t know the reason for that!

[Dave911]

How about telling the scumbag AG to pound sand and put it on the bills anyway.

[fruser1]

It’s not like they call it the Affordable Power Act.

Suicide act, neolithic act, or something else along those lines would be more apt.

[Political Junkie Too]

but was prohibited from informing its customers as to the reason why

How many federal trade regulations does that violate?

Imagine telling a meat packer to not tell consumers that the ground meat included pork because of an increase in beef prices?

-PJ

[Parley Baer]

Follow the climate change money. Where does all this money eventually go?

[algore]

Inslee is a lying douche and thinks he should be President/Dictator.

Ferguson is a rotten corrupt piece of excrement who will probably be the next Washington State governor.

[Openurmind]

Front page, huge font, and naming names...

The decision makers need to own it.

[sphinx]

Inform every customer on every bill, and at the same time inform every customer about the censorship and any threats. Make public every communication from the AG and the commission. File a FOIA for all related info and make it public. Sue the state, the AG and the commission. All out war. And make it very clear that the issue is not cap and trade. The issue is the use of criminal intimidation tactics to prevent accountability and deceive the public.

[csn vinnie]

A private company may not have to tell the consumer why prices went up. But a public utility needs to tell the Utilities Commission, and the Utilities Commission needs to disclose the facts to the public. I have never heard of a Public Utilities Commission operating in secret like this.

[llevrok]

How many federal trade regulations does that violate?

AG Rat Face Ferguson is running for governor.

Based on his tenure as AG, he will make tyrants like Justine Turdeau look like amateurs should he be elected.

[A strike]

fuk the WA state AG

[Tell It Right]

I don't know about in Washington, but in Alabama and other areas an increase in natural gas prices also increases power prices. This is because power companies have to pass their fuel costs onto customers, and Obama made many power companies shut down coal pants and replace them with "clean burning natural gas" fueled power.

Now the Dims are saying, "Psyche!" on natural gas and punishing people and companies (read: customers) for using the natural gas the Dims forced them to switch to.

[Jacquerie]

Here in north FL, state and local government tax electric bills 17%.

[ronnie raygun]

If you look at any of your bills the increase is hidden behind a cute three or four letter abbreviation you know nothing about. Your cell hone bill has an obama free phone tax on it, did you know this?