Assemblywomen Amy Handlin and Caroline Casagrande plan to present petitions tomorrow signed by 1,500 ratepayers opposed to a proposed electricity rate hike by Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L).“We will speak for the hundreds of ratepayers who are tired of paying more for less service,” Handlin, R-Monmouth, said. “This proposal to take about $85 more per year from hard-working families lacks credibility because JCP&L has yet to answer very serious charges of pocketing corporate profit instead of investing in the improvements that would have made our service more reliable and our rates more tolerable.”
Handlin and Casagrande plan to speak at tomorrow’s public hearing in Freehold and submit more than 1,500 signatures they gathered in opposition to the rate increase after Handlin, R-Monmouth, launched a petition. Hearings are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday April 24, at the Freehold Township Municipal Building, One Municipal Plaza.
JCP&L wants a 4.5 percent increase – roughly $85 more per year for the average ratepayer – to repair damage caused by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. Casagrande and Handlin, and hundreds of their constituents, object to the proposal because of an unanswered allegation from a nonpartisan government watchdog that JCP&L collected more profit than legally allowed from New Jersey ratepayers while allowing its infrastructure to deteriorate.
“After JCP&L literally left our communities in the dark and sent New Jersey ratepayers’ money to its parent company in Ohio, the utility is back with hands in our pockets,” Casagrande, R-Monmouth, said. “We will make the case for thousands of hard-working families and businesses that JCP&L should not see one penny more from New Jersey ratepayers until it returns every dollar it pocketed for corporate greed.” TLS.
I have no petition to present, however, I will speak at the meeting. It is my hope that Lakewood will be well represented.
How about the rest our representatives joining the side of the people not the corporations that try to bleed us to death?
How about the stock holders and JCP&L management taking a loss for once. Let Management take a pay cut. let the stockholders NOT get a dividend this year or until JCP&L delivers what we pay for. Let the stockholders pay for any upgrades because they will benefit from the upgrades when they are done. Enough is enough we don’t have any more money!!!
What’s with JCP&L they can’t just keep moving up the rates and giving us less service with all the broken street lights in lakewood, every other person lost money in hurricane sandy, weather it was food spoiling,property damage,Business so don’t claim you lost money so you have to keep charging us, we lost more money then you guys so stop charging us exorbitantly high prices.