Troubled By CL&P

And Response Following Irene

To the Editor:

I’m a handicapped senior citizen, currently in my late sixties. I’ve experienced many a strange and interesting set of events in my time. However, I’m troubled by my recent experience with Hurricane Irene, and how we have collectively been treated in its aftermath. Apparently CL&P has somehow been inspired to make the critical decision not to help their downed electrical customers. No weekend and overtime crews exist that would typically restore power and fix downed lines from storms as soon as humanly possible! All crews are serving downed areas on a “regular time basis” only. I find this shameful and unethical considering how many folks are currently without power throughout various Connecticut districts. CL&P is acting out a vengeful child’s game at the expense of the public and lives.

I can understand how their decision may strictly be financially motivated. After all, they’re in a public business for profit; however, extenuating circumstances obligates them to also service the public, which implies meeting certain moral and ethical obligations that go beyond the bottom line. Our governor should have a talk with CL&P and the affected Power Brokers, and come up with an equitable formula that shoulders the burden of cost for fix-up, and gets the process of true restoration rolling again. It’s our only hope for getting timely restoration of electrical services using that old American 24/7 dedicated elbow grease!

I asked myself what really happened here? The only answer that makes sense goes back a few years to when Connecticut decided to deregulate electric power! The wisdom of Connecticut government decided to separate and deregulate electric generation from sales, with the idea of stirring up competition and reducing costs in the traditional capitalistic way. So CL&P, who at that time had hugely invested in men, equipment, tools, and real estate, became both a legal and financial target in harm’s way.

After deregulation, competition thrived and money was being made! Tri-state businessmen with new names like Power Brokers (PB), came in droves, like the carpetbaggers of old, low-bidding electric power sales to Connecticut customers. Customers loved it at first, rates went down and PB’s contractually secured electric power slots from CL&P and out-of-state power generation companies, which forced CL&P to lower rates. Then PB charges started climbing.

 Today, CL&P sells power to middlemen Power Brokers, who sell to consumers. What about that low-ball PB offer? Connecticut  consumers now pay a two-times increase from before, to middlemen owning nothing but paperwork! Consumers are angry and want the old system back! CL&P is angry because their once lucrative generation and sales business has degraded to generation only, with low-ball PB sales. So CL&P doesn’t care how quickly service gets restored to satisfy their faceless PB customers, who aren’t individual clients. When PB gets complaints from out of power customers, CL&P doesn’t “give a damn”! They are sticking it to PB and of course Connecticut government who started this whole sticking process!

Herman Vogel

11 Lyrical Lane, Sandy Hook                                 September 3, 2011