On Feb. 16, Mr. Kessel announced a 5.8percentt electric rate surcharge to recover $125.6 million of $296 million in higher oil and natural gas costs last year.
"In terms of economic competitiveness, you can't have a 12percentt surcharge on electric bills".
LIPA imposed a 5.8percentt surcharge on electric bills in 2001, then raised it to 8.8percentt in 2003 to compensate for rising costs of oil, natural gas and imported electricity.
LIPA makes adjustments for fuel costs once annually for the preceding year and is currently adding a 5.8percentt surcharge to electric bills to cover high fuel costs in 2000.
The money would come over a 12-year period through a surcharge on electric bills paid by residential and industrial customers in New York State.
In the interview, he said he would move quickly to change attitudes about Connecticut among business leaders in the state and elsewhere, by working with lawmakers to cut state surcharges on electric bills, among the highest in the nation.
The Long Island Power Authority imposed a 4.5percentt surcharge on its electric rates Wednesday, citing higher costs for fuel and the electricity it buys from other utilities.
The chairman of the Long Island Power Authority called today for a temporary 5.8percentt surcharge on the electric bills of its 1.06 million customers to help offset the rising costs of oil and natural gas.
FERC would add a surcharge to the electric bill of all customers that get power from the line, ensuring that utility customers don't end up paying for lines that provide no energy to their state.
Japanese consumers are paying the $22 billion bill for its construction through a surcharge on their electric bills.
