The Truth In Arkansas Politics

It seems that Mike Beebe has received money from CenterPoint Energy as well...


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The state Public Service Commission is investigating whether CenterPoint Energy has been overcharging its customers for over a decade. However, CenterPoint Energy flatly denies those allegations.A project to replace gas lines in central Arkansas is what sparked this disagreement. The Public Service Commission (PSC) says CenterPoint has been improperly charging customers for costs related to digging up the old pipes. CenterPoint believes it's followed the letter of the law.CenterPoint hired crews to replace old cast iron pipes with new, easier to maintain gas lines. The problem, according to the PSC, is that CenterPoint’s customers should not be the ones footing the bill for the work.A CenterPoint spokesperson says the company has been working on this project since 1992. It has spent $90 million replacing gas lines in just the last three years.However, CenterPoint Executive Director of Rates and Regulatory Chuck Harder questions why the PSC is crying foul after all this time. “We don't understand, why now after 13 years of the program?”The PSC says the reason is that it just now noticed the billing discrepancy and is now considering the next step. If the commission agrees these charges shouldn't be in there, it could order a refund of the amounts that were over-collected. CenterPoint says it is sure this problem will be sorted out without any penalties to the company or refunds to customers. Harder says, “We did that with the understanding we would be allowed to recover all of those costs. And at the end of the day, we hope the commission will allow us to recover all of our costs for this program.”John Bethel with the PSC says they are currently reviewing the matter and will decide whether CenterPoint is in violation and if it owes customers money, how they should be repaid.