The News Journal broke this story this morning… Some excerpts.

Attorney Randall Speck, who is representing the states, said there was a strong incentive for generators of the power in the PJM area to withhold some supply to increase prices. PJM tried to mitigate this, but was unable to do so, he said.

Capacity charges in the PJM area increased by about 1,200 percent from 2007 to 2008, and now make up 20 percent of a Delmarva customer’s bill.

The higher rates were supposed to spur construction of new power plants for the constrained East Coast. But despite the higher rates, power companies have been slow to build the new plants, the complaint alleges.

As a share of that, Delmarva Power ratepayers in Delaware will overpay by about $125 million in “unjust and unreasonable” rates, the states claim.

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Wow. Keep in mind one of the misleading advertisements put up by Delmarva Power says Bluewater will cost more then 80 million a year….Does anyone seem surprised that NOT HAVING BLUEWATER WIND, will cost us 125 million instead?

You and I have been paying this money to increase capacity. We have already written the checks…Not only did our power companies cash the check and sit on the funds, earning interest, but the spent hundreds of thousands to throw a roadblock in the way of a competitor who wanted to do just what we were paying to have happen: build capacity.

This throws a credibility wrench into everything Delmarva has said…..It appears that their only reason for opposing Bluewater Wind, is so they can earn interest on our money while using the capacity shortage, as an excuse to raise our rates higher.

if you are shopping and you do not like how you get treated, you choose a different store with which to do business.

All of Delaware should scream at their Senators to get off their high horses and change vendors. More than ever we need Bluewater Wind in our own backyard, just to ensure that in our future, these shenanigans won’t take place here…….