Posted by Dennis Herrick on January 02, 2010 at 19:21:58:
Ran across this comment in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
Mike, dump those Unitil shares of yours before it's too last. Unitil's quarterly announcement on January 21st is going to be ugly. It's going to be difficult for them to hide a $4.9 million charge for screwing gas customers in Massachusetts. And the weather hasn't exactly been cold, maybe 2 weeks out of the last 13. Gas and electric revenues will probably be off. After the shares drop to about 15 you can always buy 'em back. But watch out, the continuing drama caused by the class action suit in Massachusetts may continue to depress the stock price. You might be better off buying DTE Energy Company (DTE) or Ameren Corporation (AEE) and steering clear of Unitil for now. The Public Relations disaster will eventually blow over and we'll all get a clearer picture of how damaging its been for the company, its executives and their reputations.
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To all complaining about the cost of service from Unitil, I quote facts:
Headline - Unitil Earns Top Ranking for Low Distribution Costs (note that 'Top Ranking' means the best in the nation!)
November 9, 1999: Industry magazine Electric Light & Power ranked Unitil (UTL) utilities Exeter & Hampton Electric (E&H), Concord Electric Company (CECo) and Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company #1, #7 and #17, respectively, in their national list of 'Distribution costs – best 100 companies'. Unitil's E&H has the lowest distribution costs in the nation.
This comprehensive report included the nation's investor owned utilities, federal power authorities, rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities. Distribution costs are the costs associated with delivering electricity from the electric transmission system to the consumer's home or business.
Also take note that the report included every type of electric provider in the nation...yes, municipals too!
Then in their infinite wisdom, the government regulators forced the local utilities to sell off their generation and power contracts to allow for an open competitive market...NOT!
Since the utilities are now service providers only (wires companies), they are still required to provide default power to serve customers that have not chosen a power provider. Mmmmm, guess what happens when you have to secure short term power contracts? Can you say highest cost of power? Real competitive now, are we all?
If you're looking to blaim someone for the high cost of electricity, look no further than your own government regulators. And by the way, since when has ANYTHING mandated by government actually worked out for the good?
As a UTL shareholder, I would like to see Unitil dump FG&E, and let someone else pour their hard-earned money into that black hole of a depressed area.
Municipalize? You don't have a clue what it takes to run a utility!
Be careful of what you ask for...you just might get it!
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