Utility Companies Likely to Recoup Losses From Rate Payers

There's speculation on whether Jersey's giant Utilities can and will hit up ratepayers for huge bucks to cover the cost of cleanup and restoration after Irene, Lee, and the Saturday Snow storm. This would be hundreds of millions of additional dollars to be added to your bill. On that subject, the regulating agency, the Board of Public Utilities seems to be speaking with forked tongue, 

At first mention of the customers picking up the cost of what seems to most to be an inefficient and flawed performance, the BPU appeared to endorse the prospect of passing on to us the cost by claiming that "no electric rates assume anything remotely like costs incurred from storms", ie. there's no money set aside. Today, however, they're saying that unexpected, emergency cost ARE built into the rate plans. Indicating possibly that They, rather than We have to pony up. They should have been squirreling away that part of your bills. Time and behind-the-scene bargaining will tell. My guess?  It would not be imprudent to say to Utility Rate Payers in New Jersey, "BOHICA! Here it comes again.