As we prepare for additional laws, statutes, rules and regulations governing the generation and sale of energy, we must question whether or not the utilities themselves are telling the whole truth about their operations.

It is not so much that I mind paying for the energy that I or my family consume, but it annoys me no end to see the sanctimonious justification of the charges in an almost incomprehensible manner.

My energy supplier, Southern California Edison, is an extremely reliable source of energy and seems to be a well-governed company adhering to prudent business practices.

But I am annoyed when I received my new bill which includes the following drivel...

"We've come up with something new. Southern California Edison is introducing an enhanced bill that will help you better understand and ultimately manage your energy use. Your SCE bill now provides useful tools and offers a more complete picture of the electricity you use. These tools and features can help you decide how you can save more energy in order to lower your bill and protect the environment."

Exciting new features...

• New Look!
  Easy to read layout
  Easy to find details
  Standard paper size 
• Great Features!
  Monthly comparison chart
  More saving tips
  Tiered usage graph
• More Resources!
  Explanation of charges
  Update address form
  Direct payment sign-up

The bill looks great, but...

On page 1 of 6, SCE notes that I have used 405 killowatt/hours (kWh) which was computed by checking my meter usage (91606-91201) which is easily understandable.

Now if they would simply multiply the 405 kWh by the rate then in effect and add the taxes ... the bill could be produced on a single page -- even a postcard -- and I would gladly pay it.

However, on page 3 of 6 we are provided with a breakdown of the charges as if somehow this will make me happier or possibly more en-lightened. (pun intended)

In the "Details of your new charges" section, we see that the delivery charges are listed in the following fashion:

Delivery charges

Basic charge - this appears to be a charge of .029/day for whatever they decide this will mean.

Energy-Winter

Tier 1 (within baseline)	152 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 2 (up to 30%)	30 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 1 (within baseline)	187 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 2 (up to 30%)	36 kWh	rate	sub/total
Total	405 kWh		no total

DWR bond charge  405 kWh @ rate -- sub/total

The next line item is the DWR bond charge -- which I suppose is the payoff to investors who actually lent money to the utility to purchase energy when ENRON was busily (and illegally) manipulating energy prices into the stratosphere by causing planned energy outages and selling and re-selling energy among complicit parties.

DWR refers to the California Department of Water Resources although I am uncertain of their statutory authority and function.

There does not appear to be any rational reason for duplicating the Tier categories other than it makes the sub/total amounts smaller. -- Whoops, there was a rate decrease in the middle of the billing period and that's SCE's method of providing full disclosure. It's probably one of the temporary rate decreases that precedes the next rate hike as mentioned on page 6 of 6.

At this point, I can still comprehend that I used 405 kWh and the cost, added taxes and the DWR bond charge should give me a bottom line. But that appears only to cover the delivery charge.

Generation charges

DWR - Energy-Winter

110 kWh

rate

sub/total

  SCE - Energy-Winter

Tier 1 (within baseline)	111 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 2 (up to 30%)	22 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 1 (within baseline)	136 kWh	rate	sub/total
Tier 2 (up to 30%)	26 kWh	rate	sub/total
Total	295  kWh		no total

Again it adds up to 405 killowatt/Hours and it is a total. OK, so our bill now has a base charge, a generation charge, a delivery charge and taxes. But I now know that the DWR supplied 27.102% of the energy I used this month. A statistic that I am sure is necessary to the management of my power consumption.

However, we are now presented with some additional information... which I am sure is of extreme importance to each and every consumer.

Your delivery charges include:

• transmission charges
• distribution charges
• nuclear decommissioning charges
• public purpose programs charge
• trust transfer amount

I suppose that the public purpose programs charges somehow related to the enforced charity of making me pay Southern California Edison, its investors and executives for the electricity used by the poor and the disadvantaged; which in Southern California is tantamount to saying "illegal aliens."

And I suppose this also covers all of those rebates you allegedly "earn" when buying more energy efficient appliances.

We should be commissioning nuclear plants, not decommissioning them. And why am I supposed to pay for this? Won't the terrorists take the nuclear fuel off our hands for a substantial fee which includes dismantling the plant too?  Couldn't SCE just transfer the plant to one of those SPEs (Special Purpose Entities) so it won't show up on the books -- and then the Federal Government will pay for it when they find it, once again, leaking radioactive water? I mean, isn't this the way utility accounting has always been done?

By way of explanation of the TTA, here is the definition of the Trust Transfer Amount (TTA) which appears in the fine print on page 2 of 6...

"This reflects the Fixed Transition Amount (FTA) chargeable to residential and small commercial customers pursuant to state law and a financing order issued by the CPUC. The TTA is the property of SCE Funding Limited Corporation (LLC) and is collected by SCE solely as a servicing agent for SCE Funding LLC."

Not done yet...

Your generation charges include:

• competition transition charge

Your overall energy charges include:

• franchise fees

I have no clue as to the meaning of "competition transition charge," but believe that the franchise fees are simply another way of saying "taxes."

Understanding and Management...

This new bill does not help me to better understand anything, and only increases my anger at a utility which hides behind acronyms and program costs which are couched in legalese.

As for managing my energy usage, I am not about to run out and buy a new, and much more costly, refrigerator or turn it off during certain times of the day to conserve energy. Since most homes are incapable of metering energy by the hour, curtailing energy usage during peak hours has absolutely no effect on my bill. Nor am I going to re-insulate my house or "go green" as the energy savings will not kick in to my profit column until way after I am dead. By then, I don't really care.

The guilt factor...

To inspire guilt or "good citizenship," we find a slick little bar graph of your daily average energy usage for past 14 months.

OK, now what.

I react to hot days in Southern California by using my air conditioner in the manner in which it was meant to be used: to make me comfortable. I do my laundry and dishes when time allows, not when the utility has surplus capacity. I use CFLs wherever possible and have a minimum of electrical devices.

Bottom line...

No matter how a utility slices and dices your bill, no matter how much supplemental information they include, the bottom line -- the amount you pay divided by the amount of services you consume -- will reveal all you need to know about rates, rate trends and internal manipulation.

Additional capacity, lower generation costs are something that should be shared between the investor, the utility and the ratepayer. And, of course, the taxman who reaps the benefit of any additional consumption.

In the final analysis, utilities are monopolies that offer necessary services to their customers. This monopoly is granted in order to achieve efficiencies of scale and as another way of raising tax revenue outside of direct taxation.

The folderol about conservation is mostly about keeping expenses down so that utilities executives can earn their bonuses and investors make a decent return on their money. Which is the way it should be. However, when the utility refuses to grow capacity to meet needs, fails to maintain its aging infrastructure or engages in ENRON-like pricing schemes -- and then demands that the ratepayers pay higher prices for reduced capacity, that is a major problem.

The folderol about using carbon caps and emissions credits to allow a utility to continue its polluting ways by simply purchasing artificial "indulgences" and passing the cost along to the ratepayer is likewise problematical.

But there is a lesson to be learned from the "Power Content Label."

The power sources for 2007 include 16% for Eligible Renewable Energy (2% Biomass, 9% Geothermal, 1% small hydroelectric, 1% solar, and 3% wind), 9% for Coal, 6% for large hydroelectric, 48% natural gas and 21% nuclear.

Which provides a clear direction in developing energy resources: increase the use of nuclear and geothermal energy, develop further natural gas projects (possibly the clean gassification of coal) and leave the rest to marginal yuppie-scum producers who want to sell "feel good" credits without bothering the rest of us who want to enjoy our energy consumption in peace.

By the way, am I the only one who noticed the increased energy usage in expanding the bill's paper size to 8-1/2 x 11 and using a larger envelope? Of course, I probably could go all "electronic transfer," but there is something about allowing them to put their hands in my pocket that seems obscene.

What can YOU do?

There are times when it is economically or operationally prudent to conserve energy. This is an individual choice and will always affect those who are the least able to pay for the energy.

And then there are times when you need to recognize that the utilities are spewing self-serving propaganda in order to disguise their real operations, profitability and future intentions.

One also needs to keep an eye on all levels of government (local, state and federal) for their activities in raising costs through additional taxes, fees, surcharges and other program expenses which are never voted on and simply appear as another confusing line on your utility statement.

And for the utilities, next time you send me a "enhanced" bill, send me a simple postcard with the charges -- not something that insults my intelligence and angers me to write a blog entry.

-- steve

Quote of the day:  "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."     -- George Bernard Shaw

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