Word: conning
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Last month, many consumers saw their electric bills rise drastically. Tales abounded of $80 electric fees suddenly turning into $300 electric fees--a more-than-300-per-cent increase. Con Ed said it was merely passing along its own increased fuel costs. It appended its statement with a clever argument that because power companies are generating less energy during the "shortage," they should get paid more for what they do. The utility denied that the increases were exorbitant...
Neither of these, however, can match Con Ed's record ten years of denials that its proposed Storm King power plant will, if completed, be one of the biggest white elephants ever to trample the power industry, the environment and the consumer...
...When Con Ed proposed the plant in 1963, the rationale may have made some sense: Generating plants operate more efficiently at full capacity, and at the time most were not being used to their fullest. Extra power would be generated and stored on the mountain until it was needed later...
...Con Ed recently denied that this would make any difference, but had a few short-circuits in its denial. After all, it is difficult to justify a project that will waste one million kilowatts for every two million it produces, particularly in the middle of an "energy crisis." And the excuses must be carefully constructed: It is at least as difficult to explain to consumers why they must pay for fuel to generate millions of kilowatts that no one but the pumps at the foot of the mountain will ever...
...spokesman explained patiently that Con Ed will get the power for Storm King from "cleaner" (thermal and radiation pollution aside) nuclear generating plants. But most of Con Ed's nuclear plants have not been allowed to operate at full capacity-in fact, some have not been allowed to operate at all. If this situation continues, the spokesman assured, the power would be purchased from other members of the Northeast Power Grid. If fuel oil is to be wasted, the reasoning apparently runs, it won't be ours; if the air is to be polluted, atleast...