Saturday, January 27, 2018

PICK ONE: IS IT WEATHER CHANGE OR CLIMATE CHANGE?

In the past year, the United States has witnessed several natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, wildfires, mudslides, etc. It is tempting to extrapolate from these short-term weather events to conclude that climate change is real and has caused such events.

Therefore, it is refreshing to read a recent article in the Wall Street Journal pointing out that destructive weather can be confused with climate change.* Parenthetically, one could be hard pressed to come up with an objective definition of "weather" and "climate change" that everyone could agree upon and which did not beg the question.

The article reviews several types of factors, including global temperatures, hurricanes, fires, droughts, floods and the like. It concludes that while extreme short-term weather changes can have harsh impacts, these events do not demonstrate the reality of the earth's climate.

Here in the Midwest in recent weeks, the bone chilling, sub-zero arctic vortex has visited twice, and probably will do so again. As I huddle against a crackling fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, I have to wonder whether our deep freeze is caused by weather or climate change. Maybe I will think about that more, after I thaw.

_________________________________________

*Peiser and Ridley, "Bad Weather Is No
Reason for Climate Alarm", Wall Street
Journal, January 13-14,2018, p.C3

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

Monday, January 15, 2018

SMART METERS MEASURE UP

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved Commonwealth Edison's advanced metering infrastructure plan and ordered the utility to install smart meters for all its customers. The smart meter measures a customer's electricity usage and wirelessly sends the information to the utility. Thus, a smart meter eliminates the necessity for a meter reader to come to the premises to read the meter. The Commission also approved an additional monthly charge of $21.53 to customers who refuse to permit installation of a smart meter on their premises. The additional charge is cost-based,including the cost of having a meter reader visiting premises to read a non-smart meter.

A customer refused to permit installation of a smart meter and also refused to pay the smart meter refusal charge. The customer filed a complaint with the Commission challenging the legality of the charge. After the Commission dismissed the complaint, the customer appealed the decision to the Appellate Court.*

On appeal, the question before the Court was whether a customer can refuse installation of a smart meter without paying the refusal charge. The customer argued that the Commission denied due process because it dismissed the complaint without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Court rejected this argument, indicating that a hearing does not need to be held in every situation of dismissal. It concluded that the customer's complaint before the Commission raised only legal issues, not factual issues, and that the legal issues were fully briefed.

The Court also held that there was no violation of state law. It stated that a smart meter simply is an upgrade replacement of an old meter. In addition, the refusal charge is a reimbursement of the additional cost for a manual meter read, not an additional metering fee. Moreover, the refusal charge was in a tariff approved by the Commission, and thereby, was a law.

The customer also asserted that the refusal charge violated federal law because there was no federal law mandating smart meters. The Court found no conflict with federal law.

Accordingly, the Court affirmed the Commission's decision rejecting the challenge to the smart meter refusal charge.

Although this decision involves an electric utility, it can be instructive for water utilities. For investor-owned utilities, it demonstrates the importance of prior approval by the regulatory agency for innovations such as smart meters or other infrastructure upgrades. For all types of water utilities, the issues can be relevant. For example, technology innovations may suggest replacement of conventional meters with some form of "smart" water meter. Access to change meters may come into question. Further, a refusal charge may be proposed in the event a customer declines to permit a meter change. Such a charge, it would seem, must be justified based on cost factors.

________________________________________

*Wade v. Illinois Commerce Commission,
2017 IL. App (1st) 171230

© Daniel J. Kucera 2018

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

RESOLVING NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

It is a New Year! Your favorite sport team's season now is over, with its dismal losing record. The celebratory parties are over, possibly leaving sobering concerns about one's behavior at them. It is time to confront 2018. As T.S. Eliot put it, "For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice."

Traditionally, people make resolutions at the first of a new year to improve behavior or to set goals for the coming twelve months. According to G.K. Chesterton, "Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things he will certainly do nothing effective."

The problem is that, while it may be easy to make New Year resolutions, it seems downright impossible to actually keep or even to implement them. Easy to make, easy to break. So this year I have decided that it is far more realistic to make resolutions for other people rather than for myself. This could offer joy to all concerned. As Tennyson said, "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'It will be happier.'"

I offer to all the following four resolutions concerning water:

RESOLUTION 1: To drink more water. Mark twain said "Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody." On a more positive note, Thoreau uttered "Water is the only drink for a wise man."

RESOLUTION 2: To conserve water by using less when circumstances permit.

RESOLUTION 3: To avoid wasting water, for example from such causes as leaking faucets, spigots and toilets, and the like.

RESOLUTION 4: To avoid flushing things into drains and toilets that could be detrimental to the wastewater system.

The fact is that these resolutions, and all other possible resolutions in general, in reality simply are a matter of common sense. Perhaps the most important resolution that anyone could make is to resolve to use one's own common sense. De Vinci stated "Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation...even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." Or, as Tennyson exclaimed, "Ring out the false, ring in the true."


© Daniel J. Kucera 2018