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By the numbers

Published on January 18, 2013; Published on January 18, 2013

The electric company, I won’t even say their name, got a seven-per-cent-plus increase in 2012 and now they want another seven-per-cent-plus increase in 2013.

The property taxes are jumping 20 or more per cent and, all this while, the income of retired people is generally rising by one or two per cent.

The basic necessities of life are getting harder to come by and any extras are fast becoming a dream never to be achieved.

The investors in the not-named electric company want eight per cent return and we can’t get two per cent on savings. Something is very wrong with this picture.

Is anybody going to stand up for us?

Greg Richard

Pouch Cove

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Cyril Rogers

- January 18, 2013 at 12:22:42

Let's not forget that the newest mega fiasco....Muskrat Falls....will not even be regulated by the PUB, since it comes under the auspices of NALCOR and the government. When the costs of building this dam goes well beyond its projected figure of nearly 8 billion dollars, and they need more money, it will hit you in two ways. First of all, the power costs to private companies like Newfoundland Power will go up significantly and all tax payers will be hit with tax increases or reduced services or both. Secondly, your power bill will continue to escalate rapidly. Either way, it is a lose-lose situation that is totally unnecessary. As Winston Adams points out, we could reduce demand and eliminate the need for this MF project altogether. Why is government ignoring the obvious?

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Winston Adams

- January 18, 2013 at 10:49:21

Greg, your numbers are somewhat in error. NP seeks a better rate of return, from 8.8 to 10.4, so that is 18 percent more.You say we can't get 2 percent on savings. What savings do you mean? Investment into good cost effective household energy upgrades save much more than 2 percent. Spend 8 percent , save nearly 30 percent. Elsewhere this is done big time, with the PUB approved Efficiency programs making significant contribution to the homeowner costs. In nova Scotia they spend 47 million a year on this, here lessthan 5 million. The PUB has received but 2 written comments opposing this rate hike. Go figure! So we give consent, as no one really cares enough to complain to proper channels. And is there even one MHA calling for more funding to financially help residents get better efficiency upgrades for houses?

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