From Rick Knodel (Alternate to Area C Director)

Re: Fortis and the two tier power supply charges

Sorry for delay in reply

I believe about 25 attended with 5 from the RDOS, Linda Larson told me she would have two people attending on her behalf also.

It has in both the last meetings been made apparent that the two tier system is causing untold hardship on many who have no choice but to rely on electricity for their heating needs.

Fortis and the Utility commission were aware that the first tier was not sustainable by those who heat with electricity thereby discriminating against the mostly rural customers,  and the second tier is used to subsidize their natural gas customers. This has caused increased usage in nonenvironmentally friendly heating and in some cases dangerous practices out of financial need. This is totally against the Governments policies.

Just for the record, Fortis did grudgingly admit that their return on equity was 9.1% not bad, better than any pension plans out there.

I am told that a motion will be put to the RDOS board to apply for intervenor status in the proceedings to follow.
This is a bad time for such important meeting with regard to the rural areas as this is an incredibly busy time for them. I will have more on this topic in the future.