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Hernando Today

Fuel cost charges simply don't add up

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Hernando Today

Published: September 10, 2009

Editor's note: The following is an open letter to Billy E. Brown, general manager of Withlacoochee Regional Electric Cooperative, and is published here at the author's request.

Back on Feb. 26 of this year I met with the following management of Withlacoochee Electric and their partner/supplier of product, Seminole Electric. The purpose was to address the apparent disconnect between natural gas pricing — a component part of your electrical cost — and the "fuel adjustment" line item on ratepayers' utility bills. My concerns were and are for the thousands of Withlacoochee utility customers in Hernando County, who with numerous financial challenges are getting no pricing relief, in spite of the fact your component part (natural gas) pricing, is the lowest its been since 2002.

In 2004 you raised the fuel cost adjustment rate to $29.66 per 1,000, and after a series of eight to nine price increases, Hernando County residents ended up paying $57.29 a thousand in December 2008. Now with natural gas pricing at $2.73 a thousand (week ending Sept. 4), the lowest its been since 2002, our "capital credit" partners at Withlacoochee refuse to do what appears to be a "price justified" adjustment

After the Feb. 26 meeting I asked David Lambert, manager of member relations, to agree to a moderated public debate regarding the apparent disconnect. David's response; "I'm currently working on several other projects with other members that require a significant amount of my time. One of my many duties at the cooperative is to manage our charitable foundation, Operation Round-up. Since the economic decline, we are now seeing a substantial increase in the amount of people requesting assistance from the program. Due to my heavy workload, I must respectfully decline your request."

Mr. Brown, I'm just a dumb old, undereducated country boy from Nebraska who lived the first 13 years of his life without electricity or running water. (Was the "Sears and Roebuck catalogue" an essential toiletry in your early life?) However, I did do well in arithmetic, and what you all are doing to the Hernando County ratepayers isn't adding up. There's an old saying in east Texas (spent 30 years there) called "coming to the lick log" — it's where the spin stops, the masks are removed and the sunlight exposes the truth.

And speaking of truth, how about the company formed a few years ago called URADCO, and what role did and do you now play? How about county commissioners putting Withlacoochee ratepayers on the hook for funding electrical infrastructure for developers? David spoke of "operation round up," with all due respect, Mr. Brown, I think it's time for "operation round down." You see, Mr. Brown, I believe it's time we had a public, media-moderated, "coming to the lick log" town hall meeting to discuss these matters and others.

Your Web site says, "our energy, our future, a dialogue with America." Here's your chance to have a dialogue with one Hernando County American; I hope you won't pass up the opportunity.

Jim Gries

Weeki Wachee

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