von Schack moonlights

Wesley W. von Schack, Energy East president, CEO and chairman, is no stranger to mergers, and surviving those mergers. He was on the board of directors of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank, a position he gained while CEO of his former utility, Duquesne Electric. When Mellon was acquired by Bank of New York , von Schack was one of the eight Mellon board members to go over to the new combined bank as a director.

As a Mellon director, von Schack was paid $110,124 in compensation (combined cash, stock awards. pension benefits and other misc. compensation) in 2007, according to the bank's proxy statement. He was the second highest paid director.

von Schack also is listed as the owner of 127,018 shares of Bank of New York stock .

At today's value, his holding are worth about $5.5 million. That pay and stock package is in addition to his Energy East pay, stock and pension package.

Energy East has yet to file a proxy for last year.

Analyst predicted rough road for merger

The $4.5 billion takeover of Energy East by Iberdrola was announced on June 25, 2007. At the time, the parties said they expected the deal to be complete by the end of this year's second quarter. That is looking more and more unlikely given the objections by NY regulators who contend that ratepayers will not benefit as the deal is now structured. Of course, Iberdrola and Energy East dispute that claim.

Company officials expected smooth sailing for the deal. But there were some who were not as optimistic.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin quoted a Morningstar analyst who predicted trouble ahead.

In a research note released the week following the acquisition announcement, Ryan McLean, an analyst with Morningstar, of Chicago, said the transaction has several regulatory obstacles to overcome. He said that though there should be major objections, Energy East’s past disputes with regulators, especially in New York, could make the normally smooth road to approval by regulators rougher than expected.

“On balance, we believe the merger chances are good, but not assured,” McLean wrote.

Gas cost comparisons

With the April cost of the natural gas supply from NYSEG pushing above the $1.12/therm, it may be possible to save some money by looking at alternative suppliers.

According the the Public Service Commission's site, both NYSEG Solutions and Agway Energy Services offer a less expensive natural gas rate.

There is a precaution here. The PSC charts have been known to be inaccurate on pricing, so it may be best to check pricing directly with the two suppliers before jumping aboard.

See these entries for some other numbers of natural gas costs.

Energy East spreads political money around

Through the 2008 election cycle, the Energy East PAC has been contributing to both Republican and Democratic candidates.

For instance, it has given $1,000 to liberal leaning Maurice Hinchey,(D-N.Y.) while also dispensing another $1,000 to the campaign of conservative James Walsh, (R-N.Y.) But it seems to dispensing money around to all congressional representatives in its New York service territory.

See a round-up of Energy East's political contributions for this elections cycle here.

My bill vs. yours

It's time for the monthly bill comparison: NYSEG fixed vs. NYSEG variable vs. Energy Cooperative of New York.

Let's go over the competing rates for March:

Fixed rate: 12.77 cents/Kwh with a 0.22/Kwh merchant function charge added)

Variable rate: 11.76156 (with a 0.22/Kwh merchant function charge added)
Energy Coop of NY: 11.75892

Bottom line for 600Kwh:
NYSEG fixed: $76.62
NYSEG variable: $70.57
Energy Coop of NY: $70.55

See these previous posts on electric costs and rate comparisons.

March electric rate comparison

Average price for electricity for March under NYSEG's variable price program: 11.54156/kwh

Fixed price: 12.55/kwh.

March savings if a typical customer had selected variable over fixed: $6.05.

March cost for 600Kwh of NYSEG fixed-price electricity: $75.30

March cost for 600Kwh of NYSEG variable-price electricity: $69.25

See prices for electricity options here.

See the alternatives for electric service here.

April natural gas costs rise

Thank goodness it's getting warmer because natural gas costs are going higher.

The April cost for natural gas from NYSEG is $1.083 per therm. With 0.0371 Merchant Function charge, the comes out to a total cost of $1.1201 per therm in April. That's the highest cost for natural gas since the Katrina spike, when natural gas supply peaked at $1.429.

Review NYSEG's natural gas prices here.

Search for alternative suppliers here.