I t is well past time that customers of Jersey Central Power & Light learn the truth about the rates they pay for electricity.
Three years ago the New Jersey Rate Counsel ordered the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to have JCP&L open its books, based on the argument that the utility had been overcharging its customers.
Since then, the BPU has been a silent bystander while the state’s second-largest utility company continues to (charge) more than one million residents.
Along with AARP, the Rate Counsel and BPU have revealed that JCP&L customers are entitled to a rate decrease of over $200 million. The company has also made deep cuts to service reliability improvements while taking in additional funds for that very purpose. As utility rates and complaints about lackluster service increase, JCP&L is sending surplus funding to its sole shareholder, FirstEnergy.
Waiting any longer will only lose customers more money that can go toward other necessities like food and healthcare. We need the BPU to take a stand now by supporting the Rate Counsel’s push to set provisional rates that would be subject to refund as of Aug. 1, 2014.
JCP&L customers deserve to be treated fairly. The BPU must do its job. Sy Larson Monroe Township