OPENING REMARKS BY
RATEPAYER ADVOCATE SEEMA M. SINGH
CONSUMER EDUCATION PRESENTATION
METUCHEN BOROUGH HALL
MAY 12, 2004
7:00 P.M.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, dear friends
Let me begin by thanking council president Alan Grossman and councilwoman
Catherine Totin for inviting me to speak here tonight. I would also like to
thank all of you for taking the time to be here. We hope the time you invest
will help you to reduce your energy consumption and lower your utility bills—without
sacrificing your standards of living.
It is very fitting that we meet just a stone’s throw from Menlo park,
home to Thomas Edison’s invention factory, where he perfected the incandescent
light bulb and developed the electrical distribution system. I wonder what
the wizard of Menlo Park would make of the ways in which energy industries
have reinvented themselves since his inventions highlighted the world.
Let me begin by telling you something about my office and what we do. The
division of the ratepayer advocate is an independent state agency that represents
all utility customers in New Jersey whenever the rates and services for electric,
natural gas, water wastewater, telecommunications and cable tv are decided
by state and federal agencies. We are committed to ensuring that ratepayers
receive safe, reliable and affordable service.
My staff and i represent the legal interests of ratepayers before the new
jersey board of public utilities, state and federal courts, the federal communications
commission and the federal energy regulatory commission whenever utility companies
seek changes in their rates and services and decide the policies which affect
those services. The ratepayer advocate also participates on behalf of consumers
when long-range energy, water and telecommunications policies are being decided.
A very important part of my responsibilities includes protecting the interests
of New Jersey’s most vulnerable utility customers, the elderly, the
disabled, and low-income residents of the state. The ratepayer advocate may
be their only representative in utility proceedings.
Tonight is one of a series of consumer education presentation programs that
we are conducting throughout the state. We visit consumers and encourage them
to take action -- or as we like to say ‘get energized.’ no doubt,
every one of you has at some time, been frustrated by high utility costs or
by difficulty understanding your utility bill. That is why we are here—to
help give you the knowledge and tools you need to become more informed and
more knowledgeable consumers.
I am here to announce in the face of rising costs for all types of energy,
that there is some good news. There is one surefire, guaranteed way to lower
your utility bills. Conservation!
Conservation simply means consuming less energy. It does not mean sacrificing
your lifestyle. It does not mean you have to sit in the dark and shiver in
the winter or swelter in the summer to pay your utility bills. It does mean
you have to make smart choices about your energy usage and take steps to make
your home more energy efficient.
Tonight we are providing each of you with a copy of our consumer conservation
handbook. The handbook contains dozens of simple, easy-to-use conservation
tips for your home. These are steps you can take right now that will cost
little or nothing and, as you will see on your next bill, they can save you
money.
I urge you to take these books home with you tonight. Go room to room and
begin to implement the conservation tips. Remember, the more of these suggestions
you adopt, the more you can save.
Conservation not only helps to lower your utility bill, it also works to increase
reliability and minimize blackouts by reducing the collective demand for energy.
As we discovered last summer during the august 14th northeast blackout, as
well as the fourth of July blackout at the jersey shore, electricity is vital
for the maintenance of a safe and comfortable standard of living. A day, or
even an hour without power shows us how truly dependent we are on utility
service. The twenty-first century customer needs nothing less than almost
instantaneous power restoration.
There is currently a movement, at both the state and federal levels, to require
performance standards for all utilities and to impose penalties if they fail
to meet these standards.
As ratepayer advocate, we have vigorously supported these standards on behalf
of the state’s ratepayers. Recently, i testified before an assembly
committee at the statehouse and urged the legislature to implement permanent
reliability standards with penalties for failure to comply for all utilities
serving new jersey.
Rates are at a level that should enable utilities to provide safe and reliable
services. If a company does not adequately maintain and upgrade its system,
then ratepayers are not getting the service they are paying for. The ratepayer
advocate firmly supports the position that utilities must be held accountable
for the reliability of their systems.
Other ways to achieve lower utility costs and reliability is through energy
efficiency and alternative forms of energy. Solar panels, wind mills, and
gas fired micro-turbines are some examples of these forms, which are paving
the way for the future of energy throughout the nation and the world.
Under the leadership of governor Mcgreevey, I’m proud to say that New
Jersey is becoming the national leader in promoting alternative and clean
energy technologies. He has put our state in the forefront of the renewable
energy field by offering substantial rebates to residential, commercial and
industrial customers, requiring higher percentages of renewable energy in
our state’s energy portfolio, and issuing very useful information on
these issues.
You can check out the board’s clean energy program at its’ website-
www.njcleanenergy.com . It provides valuable information, as well as numerous
links to related sites. The clean energy program can also be reached by calling
1-800-624-0241.
But, even with this outstanding renewable energy rebate program, many consumers
cannot afford to purchase this technology, although it is expected that over
time, the price to implement these new highly efficient and environmentally
sound technologies will drop. Until then, however, customers will still be
dependent on the efficiencies of the utility companies.
The energy world is changing day by day. In 1999, New Jersey “de-regulated”
or more accurately, “restructured” its energy industry. It is
now deemed to be competitive. Notwithstanding, the ratepayer advocate continues
to support consumer protection regulations and safeguards in new forms to
ensure that energy suppliers provide reasonable standards of service and are
responsible for the customers they serve.
One effective means of encouraging residential and small business customers
to participate in a competitive energy market are to allow them to pool their
energy purchases through their local governments – a method known as
government or municipal aggregation. This process offers customers greater
buying power and opportunity for reducing their costs.
Government aggregation can successfully transform individual residential,
small business, and municipal electric customers into potent buying groups.
By pooling the demand of various individual customers with local businesses
and the municipal load, New Jersey consumers can command better deals, demand
better service and save money.
My office, working closely with the board of public utilities, recommended
changes to the previous law to make the process for governmental energy aggregation
more workable. Governor Mcgreevey signed into law this revision so that aggregation
can increase the efficiency and competitiveness of New Jersey’s overall
energy marketplace.
Over the coming year, as we work to ensure that this new age of competition
and technological advancements delivers benefits to consumers, the ratepayer
advocate will continue to take an active role in energy proceedings while
maintaining regulatory oversight so that our energy services are reliable,
affordable and safe.
But while government, regulators, and the utilities are struggling to decide
these significant issues, ratepayers should not wait for solutions from above.
They should start taking immediate action as individuals and members of communities.
in my power presentation which follows i will give you details of specific
energy conservation actions you can take.
The more knowledge consumers have, the more power you have.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome Bob Brabston who will
tell us how to read and understand your utility bills.