Energy Companies using Consumer’s Money to Fund Public Relations.

Finally in Illinois, the Illinois Attorney general’s office is raising serious questions about energy providers using consumer money to get positive recognition and press in their communities.

The Program started in South Carolina with the Palmetto Electric Cooperative in 1989 calling it the “rounding up" program. What Palmetto and now dozens of utility companies across the country are doing is taking a consumer’s monthly utility bill and rounding it up to the nearest dollar. These pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, which quickly add up into the tens of thousands of dollars then are distributed by the energy companies to local charities and good causes.

In the case of Palmetto, $41 million have been distributed so far. There of course is nothing wrong with charitable giving. The argument is that the energy officials get all the praise and press as they struggle to refurbish their ever tarnishing images. Images tarnished with record costs to consumers all the while their stocks soar to new levels of profits off of the highest costs for energy anywhere in the world.

Now in Illinois, Corn Belt Energy Corp has pushed the envelope of corporate arrogance to a new level that is bringing the state into questioning their decision.

Corn Belt decided to simply enroll all 30,000 of their customers into the plan and require they spend the time to opt out of the program. This is in direct conflict with the notion that charitable giving is a choice and not a requirement. Making people spend their time to say no to a decision someone else has no right to make for them according to the Illinois Attorney general is a questionable practice.

O course it is. Several years ago, credit card companies were forced to stop such “enrollment" practices when they started signing up all their clients for some worthless junk program that required a customer to jump through hoops to become un-enrolled.

If they want to act like they are these marvelous, community responsive businesses, let them put their money and not ours where there mouth is.