Water Rate Increase Protest
On Wednesday night, we had a public hearing for a water rate increase for a few hundred of my constituents. My remarks obviously irritated one of the high dollar attorneys for the utilities company. She insisted my statement contained unsubstantiated claims. I guess that’s what they pay these high-class lawyers to do. Here’s the letter I read to the PSC:
November 7, 2007
G. O’Neal Hamilton, Chairman
South Carolina of Public Service Commission
101 Executive Center Dr., Suite 100
Columbia, SC 29210
Re: Docket 2007-286-WS
Dear Public Service Commissioners:
Thank you very much for having a public hearing in Anderson concerning the rate increase proposal by the Utilities Services of South Carolina. I have a number of constituents with documents verifying less than average water pressure, low quality customer service and water quality issues.
There is also a comparison of neighboring water companies charging rates already less than those of the USSC. I am sure the USSC will give you several reasons to justify these rate increases. For whatever these reasons may be, I would think the neighboring water companies have similar circumstances yet the neighboring customers seem to get fairer treatment. Simply put, these customers should not be subject to funding the mismanagement practices of USSC. It is not their problem. I would like to encourage the members of the Public Services Commission to take great efforts to examine the issues raised by my constituents.
I am a retail pharmacist. In my profession, an unsatisfied customer can simply choose to shop at a different drug store in town. Utilities customers do not have an option, therefore we ask you, the Public Service Commission, to intervene and protect these working families. They simply cannot afford an unfair price increase for an essential need such as water.
With warmest personal regards, I remain
Respectfully,
Kevin L. Bryant
South Carolina Senate District 3
November 8th, 2007 at 2:33 am
Senator, those high dollar lawyers are to make your constituents forget who’s in charge…they are and looks like you remember it
November 8th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
You go to bat for your constituents and that is your job and I’m sure they thank you for it. But your tactic is a little weird, the ad hominem attacks on their ‘high-class lawyers’ and ‘high dollar attorneys’ takes all the wind out of your argument. It makes you sound like you’re from Green Acres. If you have the facts, state them and let truth win out. I doubt the PSC or the USSC have “high dollar” attorneys, relatively speaking, but that’s just a hunch.
November 8th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
It sounds as if the anon above is a lawyer, who else would be bothered by that statement?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
[...] again for a rate increase proposal. If you are interested in past posts on this topic, click here and here. To read the PSC’s Directive . We initially thought this saga was over for residents [...]