Can I File Bankruptcy On My Power Bill
By Andy Miofsky, Illinois Bankruptcy Attorney on Apr 12, 2007 in Benefits of Bankruptcy, Debts Not Dischargeable, General Bankruptcy Information, Illinois
Yes, and if you are like many of my Illinois clients, you may be experiencing usually high and unfair electric bills from Ameren Illinois companies.
Thanks, but no thanks, to deregulation of the Illinois electric utility industry, Ameren purchases power through a “reverse auction” devised by the Illinois General Assembly. Normally an auction is designed to bring the highest and best price from the person who most wants the item, a lesson I learned by attending country auctions with my auctioneer friends, Terry Bones Allan and Homer Henke. So who benefits from a “reverse auction”? You will be surprised to know financial investors such as J.P. Morgan Ventures Energy Corp., Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc., J. Aron & Company [think Goldman Sachs] and Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Inc., “won” 36 per cent of the power “sold” through the auction. And not one of those companies produce power in Illinois.
No, really, I am not making this up. These bidders “won” the rights to sell power to Ameren, who in turn, sells it to consumers. No one seems to know, or care, where they get the juice, or why Ameren simply does not purchase it directly from the source. But it must be a profitable venture because Ameren’s sister subsidiary, Ameren Energy Marketing Company, got in the auction and won the right to sell Ameren another 32 per cent of the deal. Confused?
So are Illinois politicians. The system is drawing attention from Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and his Illinois Attorney General daughter Lisa Madigan, both of whom are calling for investigation and reform as Illinois politicians now feel the political heat generated by double and triple power bills Illinois residents received during the past cold winter months.
Not even Ameren Illinois itself supports the program, as president and chief executive officer Scott Cisel called for reregulation of the industry, as reported by Alan Ortbals, Vice President of the Illinois Business Journal [IBJ] in his April 2007 issue. The IBJ, an excellent read pro-business trade publication that prides itself on the motto, “We Mean Business. Illinois Business.”, devoted a front page and opinion column to five pages of coverage on this topic. High utility costs know no economic barriers and could bankrupt many small business owners.
Even St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Pat Gauen, an Ameren victim, reports in his column titled “Ameren Could Have Kept Rate Fight From Heating Up” the higher costs could be spread across Ameren’s 1.2 million customers in Illinois instead of just hitting the 120,000 experiencing higher bills. While ideas abound, the bills remain due, as customers face shutoff and collection lawsuits.
Utility bills are unsecured debts and are easily dischargeable in bankruptcy. If high power bills are preventing you from paying your other bills, you should consult a bankruptcy lawyer to determine your options.
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