It’s hard to feel too sorry for Commonwealth Edison, the $6 billion monopoly to which we have no choice but to pay our electricity bills each month.
“I don’t want to gloat,” says Howard Learner, the public interest lawyer who oversaw much of the litigation against Edison. “But this was a big, big victory.”
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What makes this triumph particularly delicious is that no one foresaw it ten years ago. Edison has always been one of the area’s better-respected corporations–its executives members of the business elite and participants in noble civic causes, including civil rights. These executives were on chummy terms with officials at the Illinois Commerce Commission, the state entity that regulates utility rates (indeed, the Sun-Times recently revealed that several ICC employees attended a White Sox playoff game with tickets provided by Edison). They had high-ranking friends in both parties and they got almost every rate hike they requested, mainly because it was assumed that Edison wouldn’t ask for one if it wasn’t needed.
The legal challenges took place in hearing rooms of the ICC.
CUB, Learner, and the other activists denounced the proposal, and after several weeks of negotiations the so-called deal of the century fell apart. Edison went ahead anyway and sought ICC approval for the rate hike. To Learner’s surprise, the ICC rejected the request by a vote of four to three.
The nuclear cost-overrun cases had bounced around the court system for almost eight years when, last January, the ICC ordered Edison to refund $600 million and make a $339 million rate cut.
Under the terms of the settlement, Edison is allowed to apply for another rate hike at the end of the year–an option the company is considering. “Like any good company you’re always exploring your options,” says Falcona.
