RATE CASE FILINGS CONTINUE UPWARD SWEEP

摘要

With 16 new rate cases filed this quarter, the pace of new filings continues its general increase. (See Figure 1.) Rate freezes due to industry restructuring have kept the price of electricity artificially low for several years, while rising fuel commodity prices have exacerbated the disparity between generation costs and rates. Utilities also are increasing capital spending on reliability, environmental compliance, and new generation capacity to meet rising power demand, and the strong global economy is producing inflation in construction-related costs.rnThese trends promise that the number of rate cases will keep rising.