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Washington, DC -- Tuesday, Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman and Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Christopher Shays, and John Larson sent the following letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting a delay in consideration ISO New England's proposal to institute a new pricing schedule for electricity transmission. The Commission had been expected to consider the proposal at its meeting today.
Yesterday, the FERC agreed to postpone consideration of the new schedule, which is expected to substantially increase electricity rates in Southwestern Connecticut. No new consideration date was given. The Commission's next scheduled meeting date is June 17. The text of the letter is below.
May 25, 2004
The Honorable Patrick Henry Wood Chairman Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20426
Dear Chairman Wood:
We write to urge you to delay consideration of the Locational Installed Capacity (LICAP) pricing schedule filed by ISO-New England (docket # ER04-23 001), presently scheduled for consideration on Wednesday. We believe that this proposal, filed March 1, has not been sufficiently considered by ratepayers or by the state of Connecticut.
We have already made clear our concerns about the merits of this proposal. In our May 10 letter, we expressed serious reservations about the higher prices that Connecticut residents will be forced to pay if the LICAP schedule is implemented, as well as the lack of assurance that LICAP would result in increased capacity.
We understand that the Commission will hold a conference on energy infrastructure issues in the Northeast on June 3. According to the Commission's Notice of Conference, the "conference will focus on the adequacy and development of the electric, natural gas and other energy infrastructure in the Northeast." According to the conference agenda, the panel on issues relating to New England "would address these mounting infrastructure problems and seek to identify what can be done to coordinate efforts for expeditious consideration and construction of much-needed projects." We believe that matters discussed at the conference will provide additional understanding of the transmission improvements already being planned in Connecticut and elsewhere in New England.
Therefore, we request that the FERC postpone consideration of ISO-New England's LICAP proposal by 30 days. Such a delay will provide additional time for the public to learn more about the possible implications for their electricity rates, as well as provide energy policymakers with the benefit of the FERC conference on New England energy issues. We believe that this delay will be beneficial to all parties, and we look forward to working with you on this matter of great importance to our constituents.
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD United States Senator
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN United States Senator
ROSA L. DELAURO Member of Congress
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS Member of Congress
JOHN LARSON Member of Congress
cc: Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell
Commissioner Joseph T. Kelliher
Commissioner Suedeen G. Kelly
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