Posted on Sun, Jun. 28, 2009
The Inquirer's article on the need for power companies to reduce carbon emissions noted that Exelon's Scott Brown proposes that consumers, and not the polluters, pay the cost of reducing these emissions ("Pa. utilities, industry view clean-energy act," Wednesday).
On the face of it, a $175-a-year additional charge to typical households - to pay cleanup costs for polluters and manufacturing costs attributable to higher electricity prices - might not seem like much to Brown, but this comes on top of a proposed Peco rate increase in January 2011 of as much as 20 percent.
Added to this is Peco's higher summer electric rate, which goes into effect every May. Supposedly, this is because of higher electricity usage in the summer, but summer did not begin until June 21, and May has been chilly and rainy. Brown proposes costs that, when added to all other charges, small and large, have a significant cumulative impact.
Electricity is becoming so expensive that conservation isn't enough. Alternative, new energy industries are virtually imperative.
Elaine Hughes
Maple Glen
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