Utilities...

Is it just me that loves the system we have for our basic utilities in most parts of the country. The one where there is no competition so you are forced to endure whatever they deem is a good idea for service and charges ect. AmerenCIPS is a terrible offender in this reguard. There is no alternative company in this central Illinois town to choose from to compete for rates and services. They nickle and dime the customer to death as it is. Then come to find out, that if you are late a few times or get behind and have your service disconnected and reinstated, they tack on a deposit charge to your account. Ameren says the deposits are nothing new. If a customer is late paying their bill five times, they can expect a charge equal to twice their highest monthly bill in addition to the regular bill. A deposit can be triggered if you have a bad credit history. A deposit can also be triggered if the utility company thinks you've tampered with your meter. The last one really gets me, no proof required. They are judge and jury. Nothing like no way to defend yourself is there. The amount of these charges? It is equal to twice their highest monthly bill in addition to the regular bill. Ameren's reasoning: “We've incurred these costs, and we need to have some way to recover our costs in a relatively timely manner,” said Ameren UE spokesperson Mike Cleary. “So that's what deposits are intended to do." (quotes obtained from connectedmissouri.com, same company and situation) This is coming from a company that is providing one of the basic services that is a foundation of our current society. How bad are they hurting financially? 2008 saw Ameren with near record profit of $618 million. 2007 was $547 million. 2006 was $606 million. I am not against a company making a profit, in fact I strongly support it! That is the point of business. But for a core service company to make charges like this, increase rates as they do and claim the reasoning is that they are losing money, is preposterous. Especially since there is no competition or choice of provider to be made. (the financial information was obtained from CnnMoney.com)
These "deposits" therefore are attached the the customers that try to keep up on their bill as best as humanly possible. They manage to catch up and stay current but sometimes they get a bit behind. The addition of more financial burden to these people is not likely to help anyone at all. The ones that cost the company money on the other hand, the ones that skip out all together on the bill, get away with owing nothing, as is so often the case. So this leaves the honest struggling person to pay not only their bill, but the "deposit" as well. This deposit, by the way, is more like a charge anyway. If you are late or have any trouble with the account for the nest year or so, the deposit is charged off so your money is gone, money in the amount of your 2 most costly utility months no less. This is very similar to revolving credit cards burying you so that you never pay off all the fees and interest, with the exception that you do not have to have a credit card, but you do need electricity to do most functions in the modern world. Now are you not glad you are an honest struggling American that tries to do the right thing? This is another case that has become all to common, maybe even the American standard; make it so that the ones that struggle but manage to stay honest and right pay and lose the most.
In case you are not aware, Ameren is pushing for a $226 million rate hike this year as well, they did not have a large enough profit last year. Here is a link that everyone should look through, it is the Illinois Citizens Utility Board. The only way to even begin to influence things such as this is to have a united voice backed by large numbers of citizens. These companies and the government work for the people, it is about time that we start making that a reality.