Members of the Okalhoma City Sponsoring Committee rise as their representative reads a statement opposing OGE's requested rate hike.
It was stupid of OG&E to apply for a rate hike they were not entitled to because it brought it to our attention that they are trying to stick us with smart boards we don’t want, which will put all the meter readers out of work and will allow them to charge us 15 times as much during “peak times”.
Lori Spencer wrote:
“Austin implemented ‘smart meters’ a few years ago and it hasn’t worked out so well for us. Higher bills, actual meter readings are a thing of the past (meter readers will soon be an endangered species), unexpected cuts to electric power on extremely hot days when the system is overstressed, and instant shut off if you’re late with your bill. … even if you pay the past-due bill in full, it takes 8-24 hours to restore your service. Restoration should be the touch of a button…but it’s not. Don’t fall for this trap, my Okie friends! Once you get the smart meters in, you can’t get `em out!!”
OG&E’s CEO is a guy named Peter B. Delaney. He was an investment banker on Wall Street for 15 years before taking this “position”. OG&E pays him $5.5 million per annum. (That’s our money, folks!) They pay the members of their board of directors about $100,000 a year each, and if they stay for ten years, they get it for life.
Pete Delaney is one of those guys who can talk for an hour and “sound intelligent” and never actually say anything. You won’t ever hear him say that, once they get these smart boards installed, they will be firing thousands of loyal employees who have no prospects of finding another job on American soil. Pete Delaney will never tell you that OG&E has coal-fired power plants and no intention of adding the stack scrubbers that would reduce emissions. Pete Delaney will not tell you all the drawbacks of having a smart meter. He won’t tell you that it will be like having big brother in your house, 24-7, and they are planning to charge you 15 times as much for energy during “peak times”. And what if criminals do hack in and get hold of this data? They will know your habits. They will know that you are always out on Wednesday nights, or whenever? Great time to break in, huh?
The lawyer for the Attorney General says that OG&E has no legal authority to ask for this rate hike. But it gives the citizens a chance to speak up!
I was shocked to see that there are only two females and one identifiable racial minority on OG&E’s executive committee which consists of 18 professionals. It strikes me as odd that Mr. Delaney is so brilliant that he deserves to make $5.5 million per annum, yet he has failed to make sure that the company’s affirmative action policy was followed as to upper management.
CEO/investment banker Pete Delaney does not want to invest money in stack scrubbers to reduce the emissions at their coal mines. Do you seriously think he is worried about the peons at the bottoms of the hierarchy?
Why would OG&E hire a Wall Street investment banker with no apparent ties to Oklahoma to run their company? They made that decision for the good of the stockholders, and in total disregard for the good of the average working-class Oklahoman.
If you are a professional with nobody at home all day, you can program your smart meter to turn down the thermostat while you are at work – during peak times – and you will save a little money. But if you are a senior citizen or a person with a disability or a parent with young kids at home, you will probably be at home most of the time, you will be paying 15 times as much during the day, on week days. So OG&E has designed a system that, again, helps the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Any customer of OG&E can go to the Jim Thorpe Building (third floor) in Oklahoma City, any week day this month and speak at the hearings. You call the Corporation Commission first to make sure hearings are in session at (405) 522-2100. If you need to ask questions directly to OG&E, you can call one of their lawyers at (405) 553-3658.
If you really want to see what a slick guy Peter Delaney is, watch this video, and try to catch him saying anything meaningful:
http://www.clintonschoolspeakers.com/lecture/view/keeping-lights-challenging-times/
Also see:
Article about Oklahoma’s oldest coal-powered plants.
http://www.epa.gov/region6/region-6/ok/ok005.html
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You poor misguided soul. As an OG&E employee you offend me and the other 2600 folks who bust our butts every day to keep your lights on.
First, Pete Delaney is one of the brightest visionaries in our industry or any other for that matter. There are few if any of us more concerned than Pete about utility costs and how we can manage them to the benefit of our customers. You don’t know him. You don’t know us, and you have no basis for your propaganda.
Second, there’s not lifetime payment for our Board members. Read the company’s proxy statement. If you’d bother to read the proxy, you’d see that you’ve over-inflated his slaary by about $2 million. Yes $3 million is still a handsome salary, but he wakes up every morning responsible for 3500 hundred employees and their families (OG&E isn’t the only business we have by the way. Our Enogex pipeline company has just about as much revenue as OG&E). He’s responsible for ensuring that more than 3 million people have electricity, that 8,000 miles of pipeline are operational and, yes, that the company is performing for its shareowners, most of which are 70 or older and rely on us for their income. That’s a lot of responsibility. And, just so you know, we all get paid about the average of what others in our industry are making. From the guy on a pole to the CEO, it’s all about the average. That’s why we keep losing good people to the likes of Devon, Chesapeake and others that don’t have such handcuffs.
Next, very few employees have been misplaced. Those that have been or will be have opted for that separation. Many have move into better jobs with better pay. Turnover among meter readers is horrific. More than half that start in the job will be there in a year. It’s a tough job, and few make it very long.
Fourth, smart grid is designed to save YOU money. When you get a meter, you’ll be able to see in almost real time how much your bill is at any time during the month. So, you’ll have plenty of time to turn up/down the thermostat. It’s purely OPTIONAL. There’s no mandate to participate in VOLUNTARY pricing programs.
As for scrubbers,you’re advocating for the largest rate increase in HISTORY. Our plants have and continue to operate weill within EPA standards. ThHe reason we use coal can be traced back to the infinite wisdom of the federal government, which said in the 70s that utilities could no longer burn natural gas because we were running out. Utilities had to decide – coal or nukes. We went with coal. Our friends in Tulsa went with a nuke (Black Fox) that never got built. There are much less costly options than scrubbers.
Finally, I would encourage you to seek out our employees and visit with them. Get to know us and what we’re about before creating such nonsensical rhetoric. We have delivered for YOU! For example, JD Power awards for residential and business customer satisfaction AND, most recently, we’ve been selected as North America’s BEST utility for 2011. That didn’t happen by accident.
I got Peter Delaney’s salary from Bloomberg:
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=2112696&ticker=OGE:US
So how many people have been laid off since OG&E got the stimulus money from Congress which was supposed to create jobs?
I called the utility company asking them not to install a smart meter. I don’t want cancer and diabetes, thank you. The utility company told me they can do anything they please and I have no choice. So much for JR’s statement that wireless transmitting smart meters are “strictly optional”. By the way, there was large study recently that proved cell phone technology is safe…but, that study was found to be flawed and was slanted in favor of cell phone safety (smart meter safety). Money buys the results they want. If they get by with forcing these smart meters on the public then I guess Pete Delaney has made JR’s industry maybe the most money in history. What a visionary! Of course he’s putting the publics money and health on the line. Oh well.