(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Feb 18, 2009 --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said that the federal Surface Transportation Board’s awarding of $345 million to Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Western Fuels Association as part of a landmark rail rate case will benefit energy consumers in North Dakota and is a "turning point" in the effort to combat monopoly pricing by railroads.
Dorgan, a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has led the fight to prevent railroads from charging monopoly prices to haul coal, grain and other goods in rural areas like North Dakota.
Basin Electric and Western Fuels Association filed a case with the STB alleging that the railroads have used their monopoly power to charge rail customers exorbitantly high rates.
In their decision, the STB found that railroads were charging as much as six times the variable cost of providing shipping service to North Dakota customers.
STB awarded a total of $345 million in reparations. Of that, about $100 million will be delivered in the next 30 days as payment for past overcharges. The remaining $245 million will be delivered in mandated lower rates over the next 15 years.
"This is a big decision that I believe represents a turning point in rail cases before the Surface Transportation Board," Dorgan said. "This sends a message to railroads that they cannot use their monopoly power to hike up the rates they charge shippers for hauling their goods, and then expect the STB to give them a pass. This is a big victory for competition, and a victory for Basin Electric, but the ultimate beneficiary will be the people of North Dakota who should see their electricity rates fall as a result of this decision."
