Transcript from the Sunday, November 9th Edition of the McCurtain Gazette. CEC Lowered My Rates by Bruce Willingham First, I want to sincerely thank the several people who last week trusted us enough to give us tips about possible wrongdoing at Choctaw Electric. Because of one of those tips and with the permission of the man who made it, I will be joining a law enforcement officer this week as he investigates a possible crime – whose victims are the member-owners of Choctaw Electric. We will be looking at improvements CEC allegedly made to a piece of private property. Only a few thousand dollars, it sounds like, but likely the mere tip of a very big iceberg. Now to me, that gentleman willing to come forward is a hero, as are the many other member-owners who are spending long hours trying to clean up what appears to be a huge mess. In simplest terms, it appears the cooperative has gradually converted from a business that treats everyone alike, to a political organization that treats the politically connected better than others. And who are the biggest victims of such an organization? It’s the people who can least afford to pay their electric bills each month. I’m going to tell you later about one of them, but just for once, why don’t we work together to help the people who usually have no voice and no power? Now, please don’t automatically blame either public officeholders or “the rich” for this situation because there are some financially well-off people who are sticking their necks out to try to correct this, and also some public officials risking the wrath of CEC officials as they try to make things right. On the other hand, the co-op itself now says it has brought in expert investigators to get to the bottom of things, yet after more than a month, the co-op seems unwilling to either bring its findings to law enforcement or to report them to membership. The co-op says it will leave no stone unturned, going even after board members if necessary. But when the investigators and board members are having meals together, it doesn’t exactly inspire trust about their independence. Are they really trying to make things right, or are they simply there to sanitize things, in case someone else should later get a look? And what possible offenses are we talking about exactly? Well, a whole range of things from what I’m learning. On the low end you may have special rates for special people, even free electricity for at least one I’m aware of, to free use of CEC equipment, to low-cost or free installation of electric lines for special people (which can be huge amounts of money in the case of developments), special types of pay for special employees, to CEC-performed construction on private property for yes, other special people. We already have paperwork on some of this, are getting paperwork on others, but what is most needed is people willing to talk. It may take a grand jury to fully get there, because people are understandably scared for their jobs. Now, as the headline says, I have to tell you about my own electric rates recently dropping. My wife and I have some rental cabins, and for about nine years to our knowledge we’ve always had the same “rate classification.” But recently, without our asking for it, both our rates and our monthly meter charge were reduced because our “rate classification” was changed. Changed without request and without explanation. I left a message for Mike Bailey, trying to find out why my rates had changed. No response. I emailed him asking why. Again no response. Have my wife and I been overpaying for electricity all these years? I advise my fellow cabin owners to check their rates carefully, but it occurs to me that some enterprising attorney may see the possibility of a class-action suit here if many people have been overcharged for years. Please resist the temptation. A lawsuit against the co-op, if successful, would either cost innocent fellow CEC members in the form of higher rates or would raise the co-op’s insurance premiums, also costing fellow CEC members. The people actually responsible for your paying too much wouldn’t be hurt at all. Wouldn’t it be better to get our own rate classification straightened out but also try to keep such shenanigans from occurring in the future? Remember who is hurt most by artificially high rates. Last week I received an email about a woman whose disabled son was on a breathing machine at night, and because he could no longer afford his bill, they cut off his electricity. He had a sleep test some time back. In the first hour of the test he quit breathing 17 times. In the second hour when he stopped breathing 22 times, they stopped the test. There are also a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old in the house. No one is suggesting CEC become a charity. But when special people get favored treatment, it boosts the bills on everyone else to the point some simply can’t afford it. I would argue it’s those people that board members should think about when they double their own pay, hand out a huge annuity, take a trip that’s not really needed or enjoy a luncheon steak at Pete’s Place. Special people should not be getting favored treatment. That includes relatives of board members, relatives of the powerful, and yes, guys who happen to own a newspaper when a controversy arises.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:24:14 +0000
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