Donna Hawley has been working for years to hold Rolla Municipal Utilities (RMU) accountable to the public and lower our electricity rates. In 2007, she and her friends formed the citizens group, RMU4YOU. Her research in 2007 proved that RMU was overcharging its customers, amassing a surplus of $1 million. Her research forced RMU to lower its rates by one cent per Kilowatt-hour in May 2007. RMU still refuses to return the $1 million surplus to its customers.

Since then, the City of Rolla, RMU and their friends in high places, including Phelps County Prosecutor Courtney George, have done everything in their power to silence and intimidate Ms. Hawley, including leaving a threatening message on her telephone and charging her with felony assault (Case 10PH-CR00911, ST V DONNA D HAWLEY).

RMU has planned a grandiose, $18 million expansion project which Ms. Hawley claims is totally unnecessary and will cost RMU's customers dearly. These plans include buying a substation and transmission lines from AmerenUE, but the sale must first we approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission. Ms. Hawley applied to intervene in the matter. The City of Rolla filed a motion to deny her application, filled with vicious personal attacks upon her. To the credit of the Public Service Commission, they were not swayed by these vicious personal attacks and approved Ms. Hawley's application to intervene on July 7.

Dr. James Stoffer, president of the Rolla Board of Public Works, was so upset that on that same day, he addressed the Rolla City Council, attacking Ms. Hawley. Threatening the citizens of Rolla with increased electric power rates, he asked them to use their "influence on Ms. Hawley to please advise her to keep their costs from going up" and withdraw her intervention; thus adding one more instance to the already voluminous dossier of intimidation of Ms. Hawley by the City of Rolla and its officials and friends.

The Public Service Commission docket for this case can be accessed from the PSC docket sheet. Enter the case number, EO-2010-0263, to view the docket. Ms. Hawley's application is No. 4, Rolla's motion to deny her application is No 5; my petition in support of Ms. Hawley's application is No. 6 (also posted here); and the Commission's ruling on Ms. Hawley's application is No. 18.

My response to Dr. Stoffer's July 7 address to Council which I presented to the Rolla City Council on July 19 is posted here.

[Note: On September 1, against the objections of the Public Counsel, the PSC revoked Ms. Hawley's status as intervenor on a technicality. The Public Counsel's filling in support of Ms. Hawley's continued intervention is No. 66 on the PSC docket sheet.]

###