For several months PGE has been predicting that its proposed energy deregulation plan will lead to a 10 percent reduction in electricity rates. In a Dec. 1 press release, PGE announced, "PGE Forecasts More Electricity Price Decreases with Customer Choice Implementation Proposal." The press release went on: "PGE...filed a proposal before the Oregon Public Utilities Commission that, if approved, would give all of its customers a choice of electricity providers and provide a forecasted price decrease to all of its customers of...about 10 percent." When you go to the Web and click onto the frequently asked questions portion of PGE's "Customer Choice Plan" home page, PGE is even more explicit about how its dereg plan will cut rates: "Q: How does Customer Choice benefit the average residential customers? A: Customers gain control. They'll have a choice among competitive energy companies.... In fact, we are forecasting an approximate price decrease of about 10 percent if our Customer Choice Implementation Proposal is adopted." So, why would predicting a 10 percent rate decrease land PGE in the Rogue column? Because, as it turns out, the company never meant it. In legal documents filed July 6 with the Public Utility Commission, PGE attorneys stated that "PGE has never claimed...implementing its restructuring plan will lead to a 10 percent decrease in rates." Asked about the discrepancy between the company's public claims and its recent statements before the PUC, PGE spokeswoman Rochelle Lessner says she understands why there may be cause for confusion, but she thinks critics are taking things out of context. The 10 percent claim, she says, was never specifically related to PGE's restructuring plan but to the proposed sale of its hydro dams and fossil-fuel plants, which she calls a separate issue. That logic is hard to swallow given that the sale of PGE's generation assets is a central part of the deregulation plan. Bob Jenks, spokesman for the consumer-watchdog Citizens Utility Board, says this type of misrepresentation "poisons public-policy debates." Meanwhile, the larger debate over deregulation has recently swung in favor of PGE's opponents. Last week, the PUC issued testimony strongly opposing the company's plan. |
