Federal regulators complicit in gouging customers -
Despite obscene profits from monopoly power, government officials ignore evidence and squash challenges
July 25, 2014 6:00AM ET ~ by David Cay Johnston @DavidCayJ
The profit margins that federal regulators set for utilities should be decreasing, given the long downward drift of interest rates and the shrinking cost of capital.
Bizarrely, the opposite is happening: Utilities are raking in stunning profits at the expense of consumers.
Now the first in a raft of cases asserting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is letting utilities gouge customers by setting egregiously high rates of return may finally get a hearing.
The commissioners
Since utilities are legal monopolies with no market to discipline their pricing, only the vigilance of regulators stops them from causing irreparable economic harm by stifling growth, draining wealth from customers and distorting investment. Court rulings say FERC commissioners must “guard the consumer against excessive rates.” ...
Much more here - http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/7/energy-utilitiesregulationspricesconsumersprotection.html