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Energy RSS Feed"Free Miracle Air Coolers" - Neither Free Nor Cool
With summer fast approaching, ads promising "free miracle air coolers" that "blast ice cooled air to keep you cool for just pennies a day" have been popping up in magazines and newspapers. If this sounds too good to be true to you, you're not alone. Learn just how expensive these "free" air coolers really are, and why UCAN strongly recommends avoiding them.
"Perverse Incentives:" Why SDG&E's Montana wind farm scheme is wrong, wrong, wrong
SDG&E's plan to meet its renewable energy requirements by generating energy in Montana and selling it to Canada is more hot wind from a utility that has established a reputation for relying too much on natural gas. MORE.
Sunrise Hijinks: UCAN urges rejection of SDG&E's attempt to lease a portion of the unbuilt line as a payoff to a Sunrise supporter
A 2009 application presented by SDG&E and Citizens reveals a financial transaction that leverages current FERC transmission incentives in order to secure reimbursement for Citizens of its costs incurred in its support of the Sunrise transmission project.
SDG&E is able to reward Citizens for its support of this controversial transmission project by
burying up to $22 million in higher costs in a fairly complex leasing arrangement. On the
surface, the lease arrangement appears benign. Yet, when UCAN dug into the scheme, it found
compelling evidence that not only did SDG&E ratepayers not benefit but were more likely to be the ultimate losers in the deal.
3,100 Oceanside residents lose power
A mischievous bird ran into electrical wires causing 3,100 Oceanside residents to lose
SDG&E balance transfers
UCAN received a recent complaint from a SDG&E customer
Worried about the new "Smart Meters?" Participate in UCAN's MeterWatch!
By law, SDG&E must install a smart meter in your home or business in the next 18 months. Our MeterWatch project is designed to track the accuracy of these new meters, monitor customer service from SDG&E and its outsourced installers, and also track general complaints or concerns. Our MeterWatch project is under construction and we expect to have it operational very soon. But, if you send us an e-mail, we will notify you as soon as the site is ready for registration. DETAILS HERE.
The South bay Power plant gets the green light to continue polluting
Citizens of Chula Vista beware!
John Mattes is an embedded reporter for the New Media Rights Community Journalism Project investigating UCAN issues.
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John Mattes investigates Best Windows and Doors Inc. day in court to see how the court follows through on consumer complaints.
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Get help with your energy bill from the Fraud Squad
File a Consumer Complaint with UCAN!
Need help resolving a dispute with a company? There are two ways you can get individualized help with your dispute from the Fraud Squad: (1) using our Online Complaint Forms, and (2) calling the Fraud Squad Hotline at (619) 696-6966.
It's time to go solar
Sunrise Powerlink
Visit our page dedicated to the Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Project. You will find news, data, legal hearings and testimony, open-letters from UCAN's executive director, and just about everything else you might want to know regarding this important proposal. Or, listen to Michael Shames explain UCAN's opposition to Sunrise in this UCAN.org podcast.
Michael Gets All Wet & Fishy.....with an Aquaponic Experiment
Miracles don't happen often enough in our world. But when Michael starts growing his own fish and food in his garage, then you know that there's some divine intervention because Michael doesn't fish and he's got a brown thumb that makes all leafy things tremble. So how did Advocate Michael become Farmer Michael? One word: AQUAPONICS.
SDG&E Rate Increase
December 8th, 2006 was not a good day for San Diego. On that day, San Diego Gas & Electric asked state regulators for permission to raise base rates for electricity and natural gas customers by some $250 million annually for the years 2008 through 2013. You don't need a calculator to realize that adds up to a chilly $1.5 BILLION over those six years. Listen to Michael Shames explain UCAN's position on SDG&E's rate request.
Undergrounding
From SDG&E to SBC, get the real story on undergrounding in San Diego inside this issue center.
Advanced Metering Initiative
In a filing with the Public Utilities Commission, SDG&E has asked for approval to deploy "real-time" advanced meters to all of SDG&E's small business and residential customers. Find out why the SDG&E AMI proposal needed to be substantially revised.
Sunrise hearings: Michael Shames cross examines SDG&E VP Jim Avery
Watch UCAN's Executive Director, Michael Shames, grill SDG&E VP Jim Avery in this excerpt of cross examination concerning energy derived from biomass.
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Utility Consumers' Action Network - (619) 696-6966
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UCAN.org is made available by the Utility Consumers' Action Network to assist you in becoming what you always knew you could be: a consumer ROCK STAR! We take no corporate money, and are beholden only to you, the consumer. As such, the site is here for educational, advocacy, and empowerment purposes, as well to to give you general information and a general understanding of the law. Just remember this site is NOT here to provide specific legal advice. By using this web site you of course understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Web Site publisher, UCAN. The Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
That said, get to digging on the site, inform yourself, speak your mind, and earn Watchdog Bones! This is YOUR site, and we mean it. So comment on any of the content, discuss the latest issues in the forums, file a complaint on a company with the Fraud Squad, and generally cut loose.
See our Terms of Use, Privacy, and Copyright complaint policies as well as our Content Reuse Policy, Some Rights Reserved. Remember, if you have any questions about copyright law or need legal information regarding intellectual property, the internet, or new technologies, visit our affiliate New Media Rights at www.newmediarights.org. If you are in the San Diego region, you can also can apply to use New Media Rights' multimedia studio and equipment for free.
