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Lumberjack News Deregulation: Not the Only Reason for Skyrocketing Home Heating Costs ROBIN DIMARZO Sta.ff Writer which long distance phone carrier to use. Page 2 Deregulation: does less government control sound good? Not to some Michigan residents who blame decreasing governmental control of gas pricing for their skyrocketing home-heating bills. Despite December's mild temperatures and the recent government deregulation that promised more competitive gas prices, many DTE Energy customers found themselves wishing for pre-deregulation prices. heating bills. When a recent survey ofthirty local families showed that the average residential heating bill increased by 181 percent between the months of December and January, consumers began asking why. In a letter DTE Energy sent to its customers February 5th, deregulation was not cited as the problem. On the contrary, in that letter DTE Energy took full responsibility for the excessive gas bills. Gas consumers can now make the switch to one of the MPSC approved suppliers in search ofa more competitive rate. MichCon, no w a subsidiary of DTE Energy, will continue to provide primary customer services such as gas delivery, meter reading, billing and emergency response. If a customer chooses to select FOX 33 PULLS PLUG ON CHANNEL31 A 90-ycar-old Alpena resident said she nearly fainted when she opened her Januaty gas bill. The charges had increased 145 percent from the previous month. She was so upset that she had to ask a friend to contact DTE Energy, Michigan Consolidated Gas Company's (MichCon) "parent" company, to question the bill. At that time, a representative for DTE Energy explained that the government was no longer regulating the gas charges and z;;~;~.iC:e t~;t t:!c:: much as 30 percent. However, DTE Energy more recently announced that deregulation is not the only reason for Januruy'sshockingresidcntial According to Robert Sitkauskas, DTE Energy customer billing director, the increase was the "result of a computer problem experienced during a conversion to a new billing system to serve both Mich Con and Detroit Edison customers." DTE Energy also sent out a pamphlet detailing Gas Choice, a new program that came into effect as a result of deregulation. Gas Choice, a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved plan, allows consumers the option to choose the company th~ want tQ supply tQeir natural gas. According to a representative of Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op, a MPSC approved company, the Gas Choice program is like having the option of PHIL WENZEL a new gas supplier, th at Staff" Writer company will provide and Alpena county TV chargconly for the gas. viewers will no longer be To. make able to watch the Fox net- deregulation work for instead work simply by using an an- of against them, consumers tenna and tuning to channel must act fast by contacting a 3 I. MPSC approved company. Fox 33, the Cadillac Gas Choice is based on the Fox affiliate which operated first-come, first-se rve a low-power transmitter in principle; open in 2002 to Alpena county, has tu.med it 440,000 customers. off. The signal, which was a The Gas Cho ice duplication of channel 33 in Program allows natural gas Cadillac, is off the air for customers to cuJYently select good. from the following MPSC "'At this time Fox 33 approved companies: has no plans to tum channel Bishop Ene rgy 31 backon,"thestationsaid Services LLC (877) 234- in a press release on Janu- 1 4 I O ary ! 5. The expense of scrvice@bishopenergy.com keeping the signal on the air Interstate Gas Supply Jnc forced its tennination, the ~~:i:~igscnc~.::~71 J relea~~:::t;:r1~e::n for Presque Isle El c the shut down had to do with & Gas Co-op (800) 3- territory. Fox 33 program- 6634 service@pieg. m mingdirectorJuliallorchner MichCon Gas co· ( 0) pointed Out that Alpena is 4 7 7 - 4 7 7 outofthestation'smarket www.dteenergy.com area, which is Traverse City. "By operating our station in Alpena, we may've been in- fringing on another TV station's area," she said. Several phone calls were made to Fox 33's stu- diosconccming the channel's status. One of the them was from WATZ morning host Steve Wright, who wanted to let his listeners know what had happened. He was told that if 500 people would call and complain channel 31 might be saved. Wright gave the in- fonnation over the air, but not enough cal!s were made. The signal's transmit- ter was located on Manning Hill,just west of Alpena. Ac- cording to Horchner, it was a verylow-powersignal. She added that most of the calls they r\:ceived after it was turned off were placed from the Manning Hill area. Horchner apologized for the situation, saying "We realize this is frustrating to viewers, but it is important for a small business to remain fis- Some Alpena County dishes can call 800-863 9090 for waiver infonna- tion. The acquisition ofa waiver would allow a satel- lite viewer to receive the Fox affiliates from New York and Los Angeles from theirsatelliteprovidcr. ACC Enrollment, Full Time Students Increasing KEELY FAIRCHILD Staff Writer Despite the slowing economy in the Alpena area, enrollment and the num~rof full-time students at A CC are increasing. Max Lindsay, Dean of Students at ACC, reported a 6.8 percent enrollment increase this semester, bringing thetotalnumbcrofstudents to 2,253. The rise is the first big one in years according to Lindsay; the last big change being the year the Wurtsmith Airforce Base in Oscoda closed. The recent increase also has to do with businesses closing.ManyformerFl er are 872 full-time students PaperCompanyemplo es compared to 722 last are going to school, as ell semester. The average as other workers who arc number of credits taken by enrolled in state-fu cd full-time student~ has stayed educational trai ng the same at 14.25 hours. programs. The economy could Not only is he playabigpartonwhetheror enrollment increasing, b the not this growing trend will number of full-time stu. ts continue . Lindsay said that at ACC. This semester, t ere ACC enrollment seems to coincide with the economy. groups that rate the relevancy When the economy's up, ofmaterialsgiventostudents. enrollment is down and vise- TheACC Web site, Lindsay versa. said, which was started last To help the ycar,alsohasbeenavaluable increased trend of enrollment, asset to students looking for ACC has prioritized a community college to enrollment management. attend. They will be making Thewebsiteallows brochures for the first time students to discover the and will also beholding focus Alpena area as well as ACC. ACC Prepares for Possible Cut in 2002 State Funding JESSICA THIEM Staff Writer As of today Richard Sutherland, vice president for administration and finance, is not sure what Michigan's state funding has in store for ACC in the fall of 2002. There has been talk of a substantial cut in state funds, but it is not certain. Sutherland said that John Engler, Governor of Michigan, has said that he would like to keep the funding around the same amount as last year, but all ofMichigan's State figures are not in yet: According to the financial shape right now raise of hopefully no more DetroitFreePress,Govemor because of increased than 5 percent, said Engler has stated that enrollment. However, a Sutherland. Michigancollegeswillreceive dramatic decrease in state However, if similaramountsinthe2002- fundingcouldreallyhurtthc legislators wcfe to 2003 school year to what collegefinancially., making dramatically drop their they received in the 2001- ACC use a good portion of funding, the tuition increase 2002schoolyear. However, the excess funds from this could be almost 12-13 it could he July before year'senrollmentincreasc. percent. Governor Engler anything is certain, stated Oneconscquenceof promises to keep tuition Sutherland. the state cutting funds would increases under 8.5 percent "When over 5)) inevitab!ybearaiseintuition. at the community college percent of your fundltlg One college for example, level. comes from the state, it's a Central Michigan University, Sutherland said that littletoughtomakedefinitive will have an increase of28 whentryingtomakcupfor a decisions [about the budget] percent this coming fall. cut in state funding, he has to at this time," remarked Tuition atACC has keep in mind student Sutherland. risen I percent in thepastfow services. He does not want lie also said that years. In the fall of 2002, to take away any services ACC is in pretty good therecouldbeaslightlyh:ighcr thatarealreadyprovidedto the students. When formulatcscvcralgame-plans formulating a budget he for the fall of2002 and hope always keeps the welfare of that legislators don't cut thestudentsinmind. ACC's funding too much. Because Sutherland Uncertainties about ACC's is not yet sure what the state state funding will be cleared is going to do, all he can dois up later this year.