WARWICK
-- Several Rhode Islanders made emotional pleas to the Public Utilities
Commission yesterday, asking the panel to reject a proposed
23.8-percent increase in natural gas rates.
"The increase we get in Social Security doesn't go up 23 percent," said Virginia Gonsalves, 66, of East Providence.
"Where is the justice? Where is the equality in all this?"
Gonsalves
and about a dozen other people testified at a public hearing on a
request by New England Gas that would raise a typical customer's bill
by 23.8 percent as of Nov. 1. About 46 percent of the state's
households use natural gas for heat, according to the 2000 census.
The
company, which serves 245,000 customers in Rhode Island, has said it
needs the increase to cover surging fuel prices over the past few
months.
In
September, New England Gas, a subsidiary of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based
Southern Union Co., initially said it needed a 13-percent increase. But
since then, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crippled natural gas production
in the Gulf of Mexico, sending prices even higher. Newer projections
pushed the company's request to 23.8 percent.
Under
that proposed rate hike, a typical heating customer of New England Gas
who uses 1,035 therms of energy a year would pay $1,796 for natural gas
between Nov. 1, 2005, and Oct. 31, 2006. That's an increase in annual
heating costs of $345, New England Gas said.
Last
month, the PUC granted electricity provider National Grid's request to
raise rates by 12.4 percent, which amounts to an annual increase of
about $94 for a typical customer. The electric company indicated that
by the end of the year, it will likely seek an additional rate increase
of about 12 percent.
Several
people who testified at yesterday's hearing offered first-hand accounts
of what it's like for people who cannot afford to pay their heating
bills.
"Last
year, we didn't turn on our heat until December because of the fact
that we were trying to save money," said Robin Gagne, who lives in
Providence with her sister. Both are disabled, she said, and they live
on a total income of $1,200 a month in disability payments.
"We
put extra quilts on our beds," she said. "It's not right because we
still end up sick because of it. We can't do it anymore and we
shouldn't have to. And neither should any other family that's on low
income."
Some of those who testified took aim at the PUC itself, saying the panel was not looking out for the interests of customers.
"If
you were regulating our blood pressure, we'd be having a stroke," said
Sandra Morra of Cranston. "If you were regulating our intestines, I'd
hate to think of what would be happening."
One person testified that the blame for high energy costs should not be placed on regulators or the gas company.
"I
think the gas company is doing a pretty good job," said John Farley,
executive director of the Energy Council of Rhode Island. He represents
about 30 large, commercial energy users in Rhode Island.
"Their
procurement plan is saving us money. If you talk to friends that live
in Lowell, or Boston, you'll find out we're in better shape in Rhode
Island."
He
said he commended the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the
PUC and New England Gas for coming up with the plan under which the gas
company gets rewarded when it makes good buying decisions.
Testimony
submitted by a consultant to the division indicated that Rhode Island's
gas rates, even with the proposed increase, are lower than some nearby
Massachusetts communities.
Recent
rate increases sought by utility companies in Lowell, Cape Cod, Boston,
Essex, Fall River and North Attleboro are all higher than the increase
sought by New England Gas, according to Bruce R. Oliver, of Revilo Hill
Associates in Fairfax Station, Va.
However,
one person said the comparison wasn't meaningful because average
incomes are higher in Massachusetts than in Rhode Island.
Four
legislators who testified at the hearing asked the PUC to either reject
the increase or at least hold off until the General Assembly can come
up with a heating-assistance plan.
Sen.
William A. Walaska, D-Warwick, said that he, along with Senate
President Joseph Montalbano, D-Pawtucket, and Senate Majority Leader M.
Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, have been meeting with the utility
companies to try to reach an agreement about how to help the poor pay
their heating bills.
"I
would just ask that . . . if we can put some of these increases off
until we get some things in place in the General Assembly, that would
be very much appreciated," Walaska said.
In
an interview after his remarks to the PUC, Walaska said he and his
colleagues are considering a percentage-of-income assistance plan that
was similar to one he proposed during the last session.
That
bill would have created a new state agency with the power to establish
surcharges on utility bills to pay for a heating-assistance program
based on a percentage of household income. The bill never made it out
of the Committee on Financial Services, Technology and Regulatory
Issues, which Walaska heads.
He
said that bill was "too aggressive" and that he is concerned about
adding another surcharge for people who are "on the bubble" -- those
who are barely able to pay their bills right now.
Walaska
said he is looking at other funding sources, including money now
collected from all electricity customers to fund energy conservation
and renewable-energy programs.
He said he's not sure a new law would even be needed if the companies can agree on a heating assistance plan.
But
Matt Auten, an advocate for the Rhode Island Public Interest Research
Group, said cutting these energy-efficiency programs would be a bad
idea.
Citing
a report by National Grid, Auten said the conservation program
generates $3.75 in savings for every $1 invested by electricity
customers.
Timothy C. Barmann covers energy issues, utilities and technology. He can be reached at tbarmann [at] projo.com
