County residents sound off against Sharyland electric rate increasesApr 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Brandon Mulder bmulder@mrt.com Midland Reporter-Telegram, Texas
Frustrated and confused residents of outlying county neighborhoods gathered Tuesday evening to organize a plan of action to fight skyrocketing electricity rate increases that have doubled and tripled their electricity bills since December. Many county residents were stunned when reading their recent bills, which showed rates jump by hundreds of dollars over the course of three months. The reason for the sharp increase is because of growing distribution fees. Sharyland Utilities, the distribution utility that owns and operates electrical infrastructure throughout the county, such as power lines and meters, has increased base distribution fees from roughly 3 cents per kilowatt-hour to more than 8 cents. Sharyland is the only distribution utility in the area that has been approved by the Public Utility Commission to charge these rates, according to Lisa Buescher, who spearheaded the meeting. The reason for this approval, however, is still unknown to those it serves. "The question is: Why? Why would they do that? Why would they approve Sharyland and only Sharyland?" Buescher said during the meeting. "We have not gotten any real reason from the Public Utility Commission." The extra hundreds of dollars residents have had to shell out for electricity have hit many households hard. Some residents said they have been forced to take out loans to pay their bills. "My mother and I are both on disability. Half of her check goes to the mortgage, and half of my check goes to the electric bill," said Linda Laird, who lives out at Pecan Grove. "Where we live, I can look out my front door and it's half a city block to where Sharyland's equipment is. Why am I getting charged so much?" The group of frustrated residents is working to organize a campaign to spread awareness and build a larger, more vociferous voice so lawmakers will acknowledge them. So far, they feel their efforts have fallen on deaf ears in Austin. Efforts to reach state Rep. Tom Craddick have proven ineffective, Buescher said. "We need to find some people that will help us, so start talking to your (county commissioner) to start with -- talk to anybody that will listen to you," said Buescher. "If enough people start hounding them, somebody will respond." http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=35762648 |