By Steven Allen Adams [The Parkersburg News & Sentinel]
Full article here.
CHARLESTON — Results from a new survey show that West Virginians are ready to declare their independence from higher electric rates, fossil fuels, and utility regulators. And a proposed bill of rights could help ratepayers secure their rights.
Representatives of West Virginians for Energy Freedom held a conference call Tuesday afternoon to go over the results of a survey conducted by Echelon Insights with 500 registered voters in the state between March 29 and April 1 regarding their perceptions about electric rates and energy.
According to the poll results, 20% of Republicans listed lower electricity bills as one of their top three issues, tied with creating new jobs. Among President Donald Trump’s voters, that number moved up to 21% and was the number one issue. Overall, 84% of respondents – a bipartisan sample – said it was important for West Virginia to support policies that help customers reduce their electricity bills through renewable sources or efficiency.
“The point that there is no issue more important to Republican voters than lowering electric bills was very strong,” said Emmett Pepper, policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia. “We saw that through a lot of the discussions in the legislative session. However, it was just discussions. The Legislature did nothing to lower electric bills in the most recent session…So, there’s a stark contrast there between what Republican voters want and what’s being proposed.”
During a press conference Wednesday morning at the State Capitol Building, Del. Evan Hansen said the House Democratic Caucus sponsored House Bill 3173 to place a two-year cap on electric utility rate increases. That bill remained stuck in the House Energy and Public Works committee despite an unsuccessful motion to discharge the bill from committee.
“This is a big deal across the entire state, and this is also something that we have a plan for. It’s a priority of ours,’ said Hansen, D-Monongalia. “Again, on a party line vote, the Republicans refused to take up the bill that would freeze West Virginians’ electric rates.”
When asked about willingness to switch to solar if it could save them a significant amount on their electric bills, 66% said they would make the switch. When broken down by party, 54% of Republicans said they would make the switch, 84% of Democrats would switch, and 71% of independents would switch.
“They don’t have a deep attachment to coal, if it will cost them more,” said Kai Chen Yeo, a partner with Echelon Insights who presented the results on Tuesday’s conference call. “They don’t have a deep attachment to coal, if it will cost them more. And we find that supermajorities say they are unwilling to pay any amount more for an alternative energy source, whether that be coal or renewables. A majority, two-thirds, say that they would consider switching to solar if it would save them money.”
The West Virginia Public Service Commission, the regulatory body that must approve rate increase requests from electric utilities, had overwhelmingly bad disapproval numbers, with 65% of respondents strongly or somewhat disapproving of the PSC, and 20% strongly or somewhat approving and 15% unsure.
“West Virginia voters are united across party lines in strong disapproval of how the Public Service Commission of West Virginia is regulating services and rates,” Yeo said. “Across the board, regardless of education level or party, over six in 10 voters say that they disapprove of how the Public Service Commission…is doing its job.”
“I think the takeaway is that people just want cheaper bills. They don’t care how, they don’t care why,” Pepper said. “So, they support an all-of-the-above strategy, not what we sometimes see in the state. It seems like in the state Legislature, where there’s litmus tests for supporting the most politically connected energy sources.”
West Virginians for Energy Freedom also released a West Virginia Ratepayers Bill of Rights, which proposes eight core principles aimed at ensuring fair rates, reliable service, transparent billing, and increased public participation in energy decisions.
“It’s a set of eight core principles designed to put power back where it belongs, with the people who pay the bills,” said Gary Zuckett, co-director of West Virginia Citizen Action Group. “These rights are about fairness, transparency, and accountability, especially at a time when families and businesses across our state are feeling the pressure of rising utility costs.”
The eight rights include rights to fair and reasonable rates, reliable and safe service, transparent and accurate billing, fair disconnection protections, energy assistance and efficiency, access to renewable energy, fair representation and dispute resolution, and public participation and engagement. A live reading of the West Virginia Ratepayers Bill of Rights was held Wednesday afternoon on the front steps of the State Capitol Building.
The full bill of rights can be found at energyfreedomwv.org/BOR.