THE MPUC AND THE BANGOR HYDRO ELECTRIC COMPANY

The beat goes on. Never listen to your Board of Selectmen when they tell you, with a shrug, the PUC sets the utility companies' rates, as though there is nothing you - or they - can do. Did you know there is a Maine Office of the Public Advocate who represents "the people" in the state, or that any group pf people can hire an attorney to petition the PUC against a utility company's proposed rate increase.

In fact, since the various towns and cities that pay dues to the Maine Municipal Association (with our tax money, thank you), would tell MMA that the MMA should petition the MPUC against utility rate increases, maybe those rate increases wouldn't be such a shoo-in.

But the people of Maine have been so cowed for so long, there appears to be no back-bone in the bunch.

Not that I can say much for the hired staff of that politically appointed bunch of Commissioners, either. This writer sent THREE separate emails to the rep doing all the emailing from the MPUC requesting two simply pieces of information. The physical address of the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, January 25 and a "plain English" explanation of what the formatted Schedule meant - what was expected to happen at certain times. I had a sound reason for these requests: I am an acknowledged "Petitioner" in the action objecting to the rate increase. Seemed to me I needed to know (and had a right to know) where I should be either to present my issue, or to hear the information/evidence presented by any of the other Petitioners (or Bangor Hydro).

The first three emails I sent, I was polite and only sent it to one of two parties employed by the MPUC. No response. When I sent the fourth request - to EVERYONE, which means all of the attorneys, petitioners and Bangor Hydro and MPUC alike, then (and only then) did I receive a response from the Hearing Examiner - who suggested that if I couldn't understand what was going on, perhaps I should hire an attorney!

And this is someone whose salary is paid by Maine taxpayers.

Perhaps the MPUC and the utility companies would prefer they didn't have to consider the people, the taxpayers, the rate payers, the residents - the voters. Appears they have forgotten they have separate roles.

Tuesday's hearing has two purposes: Another group of PEOPLE want to be added to the list of Petitioners. Maybe they, too, received their notifications late like some people in Bangor who only received them the week of January 10, 2011 - long after the MPUC declared petitions closed. (Of course there are no dates mentioned in the Bangor Hydro notification. It would seem that might be relevant.)

The other issue to be addressed tomorrow is that one Petitioner has requested certain information from the Bangor Hydro which Bangor Hydro does not want to provide. Seems that information is part of on on-going litigation between Bangor Hydro and another entity. (You don't suppose this rate hike is to pay for the litigation, do you?) Anyway, Bangor Hydro is requesting the MPUC provide a Protective Order which would mean they would not have to answer that question even though the Petitioner believes it is relevant to why Bangor Hydro is requesting the rate hike...

So we will see who the MPUC is going to protect - Bangor Hydro or the Maine taxpayer/residents.

Maybe these little pieces of irritation are related to why the notifications were so camouflaged in the first place - all the better to scoot past you, dear customers and taxpayers, don't you know.

Life's a bit bumpy these days. Needs to be bumpier.