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"Working families and senior citizens living on a
fixed income would be overly burdened with an electric rate increase
of as much as 50 percent," said Mitchell. "I believe the General
Assembly should extend the freeze temporarily to allow us additional
time to work up a long-term solution that will protect consumers
from unrealistic rate increases without bankrupting the electric
utilities."
Mitchell said a rate hike of up to 50 percent would
also have a negative impact on area employers. "I have heard from
employers from throughout central Illinois claiming that such a
drastic rate hike would hurt their
business and likely result in layoffs," said Mitchell. "Central
Illinois cannot afford to lose more jobs."
The General Assembly adopted the Electric Service
Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 which deregulated the
electric industry and froze rates for residential customers for 10
years. Unfortunately, the legislation has not resulted in a
competitive retail market for residential or small commercial
consumers, and the rate freeze expired Jan. 1.
[to top of second column]
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 "It remains to be seen whether or not the Senate
will agree to extend the freeze," said Mitchell, "because of
partisan bickering by the Democrats who control the General
Assembly. I am hopeful that we can get this extension passed into
law so that we can protect consumers while we work on a long-term
solution that will keep rates low while ensuring our utility
companies remain viable and provide us with quality electric
service."
According to Mitchell, without action by the Senate,
area electric rate consumers could see dramatic increases on their
upcoming electric bill.
[News release from
Rep. Bill Mitchell]
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