Author Topic: Federal regulators order public utilities to pass tax breaks onto consumers  (Read 1276 times)

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Offline jmyrlefuller

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http://wivb.com/2018/03/21/shortchanged-by-federal-tax-cuts-public-utilities-to-share-their-windfalls/

by Al Vaughters
March 21, 2018

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered the nation’s public utilities to share their tax windfalls with their customers, and it is already having an impact in Western New York.

Consumer watchdogs point out, when utilities get hit with higher taxes, they pass those higher costs on to ratepayers, rather than their investors, so tax savings should also go to their customers.

FERC issued an order to that effect last week, and the State Public Service Commission is expected to begin proceedings shortly to decide what tax savings New York’s public utilities should pass along to their ratepayers.

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Offline Frank Cannon

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LOL. It is pathetic that the Feds had to tell these creeps to do this. Corrupt effing bastards.

Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Someone please tell me how the Constitution allows the federal government to force anyone to do this.

Essentially, the feds are telling a business how much profit it can make.
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Offline thackney

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Someone please tell me how the Constitution allows the federal government to force anyone to do this.

Essentially, the feds are telling a business how much profit it can make.

Historically, the limits on profit were in exchange for the monopoly utilities had.  That has been somewhat changing in areas where you can select the company generating the electricity.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out in most of Texas with ERCOT not under FERC regulations.
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Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Historically, the limits on profit were in exchange for the monopoly utilities had.  That has been somewhat changing in areas where you can select the company generating the electricity.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out in most of Texas with ERCOT not under FERC regulations.
Well, FERC is supposed to only regulate companies that involve interstate utilities.

The article expressly states that "FERC issued an order to that effect last week, and the State Public Service Commission is expected to begin proceedings shortly to decide what tax savings New York’s public utilities should pass along to their ratepayers."

I do not see a connection with interstate commerce here.  Further, even if there is, how can a company's entire business including both intrastate and interstate be considered the domain of the feds by the feds demanding its profit be regulated?

No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country's ruin~  George Washington