Electricity and deregulation

Chicago Tribune
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
by Nader Vakili
June 19, 2007

Sycamore, Ill. — This is in response to "Nothing 'reasonable' about ComEd deal" (Voice of the people, June 12), the latest in a barrage of negative publicity against Exelon. It is time the entire electricity rate issue received a fair review in the media, in my opinion.

People who complain about the current rates need to remember we directed our elected representatives to bring about this change in the first place in return for the benefits of a deregulated utility industry.

We forced Commonwealth Edison or Exelon, the parent company, to give us a 20 percent rate reduction 10 years ago smack against higher prevailing rates elsewhere and enjoyed them for 10 years.

Exelon's profits during that time, despite all regulatory obstacles, are as a result of efficient management of its resources, operating philosophy and smart business decisions, not handouts, freebies or regulatory gaffes.

It is ludicrous to criticize and single out Exelon as a business entity for making profits when it pales in comparison to those reported by the oil companies that continue to get a free pass from the public.

The attempt to provide the so-called electric rate relief only encourages wasteful culture and hurts profits that ironically could otherwise help enrich state coffers with additional taxes.

What is indeed unreasonable is that we are reneging on our promise of free market and deregulation while Exelon has abided by every piece of antagonistic constraint the state has mandated against it.

We had 10 years to prepare for the challenges of deregulation. What is reasonable now is to modify our habits to compensate for higher prices. There are several simple ways to reduce electricity usage to keep the monthly bills manageable without sacrificing personal comforts.

Deregulation works, if we just let it.

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