Power Companies

If you look at the emails from your power company and the savings programs that they invite you in you would think they were actually looking out for you or something. But are the really? They do not have to. Most of them are monopolies and the regulatory commissions will always approve their rate increase requests since they will be backed by strong cases prepared by some heavy duty lawyers. Look carefyully through their offerings before you sign up for anything. There will be all inds of catches that you will not notice until its time to make a claim and you will find that you did not read something carefully. Here is some of the thngs that you may want to watch:

• They are not loking out for you. They have no incenticve to do that. They have no competition. The offers and "generous rebates" are only smoke screens. The rebates for energy saving device are only "politically correct". They know soon enouhg they will be raising rates. So what they gave you with one hand they will be taking back with the other

• The so-called energey efficient bulbs and furnaces do not mean anything. They will be raising rates if they have not already and your efficient devices will not be efficient anynmore.

• Watch carefylly before you sign any contracts for applicane maintenace. When the time comes for repalcing anything they will have complex arguments to get out of it. Beware of the "code reqirements arguments". You are no expert on the building codes and they will easily find something in the codes to deny your claim very politely and if you take them to court the judge will have no choice but to "feel safe" and decide in their favor, lest he/she be in violation of the building codes. I cancelled all sevice contracts for my bulidings and attend to all problems myself or a trusted repair man. It is a lot cheaper than their insurance rip-off. There are many companies offering this kind of insurance. But none is any good and favorable to you in the long run. You might as well provide your own insurenace by just saving some money as best as you can. That is what I do and have not had any problems.

• Use as litle power as you possibly can. And wait for any technlogy that offers replacement. With the huge monopolistic profit margin they have it is only inevitable that new technology will move in to wipe out the extra normal profits. That is just inevitable. Remember they will not and may not show any profits on their returns but they are making huge profits nonetheless and they are shown as costs such as bonuses to the mangement and fees for the so-consultants. Modern companies may not show profits but are earning some conspicopus life styles for the owners and managers via salaries and other costs. But the high profits are there nonetheless and it is only a matter of time before they will come back to you begging for your busines after they have lost it to the new competition that is on its way. Remember what happened to the land lines? The land lines were not costing them anything but yet they would not reduce their prices and now look what internet phones have done to the land line business. I get a ton offers for low rate land lines but now I do not want them. I told them years ago that it would not pan out but they would not reduce their pice of the land lines and now they are begging for business offering low cost land lines. It is the same with the wireless service. T-mobile and other were charging out of line prices for the minute contrlloed business and I told therm that years ago and quit t-mobnle and now they offer unlimited service after I have left the service. They also added all kinds of fees and chaarges and ovrages and I told hem that those charges were their problems and not mine . They did not listen and look what they are doing now. They are beggin for my business. When I tried to haggle and wheel and deal wih them they said they do that back in your old country (Pakistan) and not in the US. I said "Oh really! but you are mistaken. There is wheeling and dealing everywhere. What do you think your "sales" and other "specials" are?" I know better.

• Then they will announce break-throughs every once in a while and will boast the the most advanced and efficinet technology used in their plants and most advanced shipping and receiving technlogies and office management and the end-to-end revamping of their proceses and the huge savings they are bringing into their business. But all of that is never transfered to the end user. You wil never see a rebate or bonus in your mail from your power company because of their so called boasted technological break-throughs. Never. It is all hiden away as fees to the consultants and bunuses to the upper management and a pittance for their employees. You can verify this. But this is done in a clever way with strong lawyers and CPAs. You have no chance to to prove your case if you even tried to argue.

• The US has dozens of Nuclear Poer Plants and a nuclear plant does not and should not take billions of dollrs to run once complete but yet the power rates are the higher in the US than those in many so-called underdeveloped countries It makes no sense. It is best that you look out for yourself and use as litle power as possible and wait or use alternative sources of power. Pretty soon the powr companies will be seeking your business when alternative technologers get around.      

The greed and profit motive are only human naure. It would be foolish to expect anything else. It goers for us just as will as it does for them. They will be getting bigger and bigger and more monopoloistic in nature as the years go by. leading to eventual control and ownershipmby the states. It is no accident that the power companies are tightly controlled by the states. But hey get around it with lawyers and CPAs very effectively. If they do not learn and continue their behavior, the next step will be state ownership. And that is how its is in many countreis already. Frnace is a prime example where most of the large entities are state owned and managed.

RH