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« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 » December 20, 2005Settlement Discussions in MidAmerican CaseThe MidAmerican case is down to the nitty gritty of settlement discussions. Is there enough creativity and flexibility among the applicants at MidAmerican and among the parties here in Oregon, to make a deal? Settlements have been reached among most parties for MidAmerican purchase of PacifiCorp holdings in Utah, California, and Idaho. We in Oregon are holding out for hard discussion of some of the issues we hold to be most important: 1) Will there be any kind of rate credit or assurance of sharing potential cost savings with customers? MidAmerican has argued that because this is an acquisition offer, not a merger offer, most of the usual costs savings would not apply. We understand this argument but continue to believe that some sign of good faith in rates is a strong component of a good deal. 2) Will Oregon maintain a fair amount of local control? There has been discussion about moving PacifiCorp headquarters to Utah. CUB would like to see those headquarters remain here in Oregon. 3) Global warming is here and it isn't going to change course without serious action to reduce our levels of greenhouse gas emissions. MidAmerican and PacifiCorp have both historically produced the majority of their energy using coal. What kind of renewables plan and global warming plan are they willing to commit to? The settlement discussions are continuing and may come to a close before the new year. Because current Pacific Power owner ScottishPower has expressed interest in selling the utility, it looks as though change of some sort is definitely coming to Oregon's second largest electric utility company. CUB will continue to push for the best possible deal for PacifiCorp customers. Posted by Oregon CUB at 02:08 PM | Comments (1) December 15, 2005PGE Stock Distribution ApprovedWell, it looks like it's finally going to happen. After nearly a decade under Enron ownership, Portland General Electric will begin to be distributed as stock in early 2006. The Public Utility Commission of Oregon announced yesterday that it has approved the stock distribution plan. To find out more about the Commission order and the agreements reached regarding PGE's future, read the Commission's press statement. CUB supported the City of Portland's efforts to purchase PGE and was disappointed when that effort failed. CUB hopes that this stock distribution will allow PGE to become a stand-alone company, and to stay that way (this is more likely since we and others successfully passed a Utility Tax Reform Bill earlier this year, which makes Oregon utilities significantly less attractive as investments for large corporations). We believe that an independent PGE is the next best thing to a public power PGE. Thanks to all who contributed their voices and support to CUB as we have fought against some of the worst options for PGE (such as Texas Pacific Group) and advocated for the best possible deal for PGE customers. Posted by Oregon CUB at 11:56 AM | Comments (0) December 12, 2005A Telecomm Bill to BeatYou hear a lot from CUB about energy but not as much about telecommunications. But CUB works on these important issues, too, even though the telecommunications industry is to a great extent deregulated (largely due to the Telecommunications Act of 1996). One important telecomm issue is the BITS 2 bill, federal legislation currently before Congress. Senate Bill 1349/House Bill 3146 would allow telecommunications companies to deliver cable and television to people's homes, but without those pesky right-of-way agreements with local governments, or those annoying franchise fees usually charged by city governments to pay for things like community media, public safety information networks, educational programming, etc. We believe it is extremely important to retain local government control of video franchising. We also believe the programs funded by the franchise fees in question are worth fighting for. If you agree, please take a moment to contact your Congressional Representatives: Tell your Senators and Representative that Senate Bill 1349/House Bill 3146 is bad for local governments and even worse for local communities. Tell them to vote NO on Senate Bill 1349/House Bill 3146. More information about the bill is available on the website of Portland Community Media. Posted by Oregon CUB at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) |
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Maybe
it's time to put your number on the national Do Not Call list.