Governor pushes for changes in utility bill

Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack’s telling Republicans to separate out the parts of a utility bill he doesn’t like into another piece of legislation. Then, Vilsack will sign the bill he likes, and veto the other one because he doesn’t like language which lets utilities get contracts which set the price of electricity for five years or more.Legislators convene in special session tomorrow to debate, among other things, a bill which would ease regulations for building new power plants.Vilsack says by allowing utilities to use long-term contracts to set the price of electricity, consumers might end up paying more than they ought to have to pay. He says the proposal being considered by the legislature would lock in profits, but not ensure that consumers get a refund if there are excess profits.