People had power to cut fees (5)
I believe the answer is:
dupes
'people' is the definition.
The answer is an example.
'power to cut fees' is the wordplay.
'power' becomes 'p' (symbol in physics).
'to cut' indicates putting letters inside (some letters cut their way into a word).
'fees' becomes 'dues' (payments which are due).
'p' put within 'dues' is 'DUPES'.
'had' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for dupes that I've seen before include "Fools, hoaxes" , "Hoodwinks" , "People who have been fooled or swindled" , "Fools, deceives" , "Gulls" .)