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'Just bashing California does not a Northwest energy policy make' by Joel Connelly Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 14, 2001

A friend downtown passed on a tongue-in-cheek ultimatum, supposedly sent by the 30 million energy-guzzling potential invaders of the Northwest poised south of the Siskiyous.

"Washington State Residents:

"Wednesday's earthquake was just a warning.

"Now that we have your attention, sell us your power, give us back our sunshine and take back your rain, and we'll take back our earthquakes."

(signed) The People of California.

Up here in lotus land, populace and politicians have looked upon California kind of like we had Iraq for a neighbor. Our leaders have drawn up water and energy scenarios that resemble the 1960s Domino Theory advanced by the Pentagon, which argued that China's hordes would overrun Southeast Asia if the United States did not stand fast in Vietnam.

Last week, I heard a stirring of common sense. "Just bashing California does not a Northwest energy policy make," said freshman Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

He's right. Myths will not solve shortages. Subject to close scrutiny, today's demonizing of California stands up about as well as the Domino Theory.

California has not been draining us dry during its winter power shortage, as evidenced by a little-seen Bonneville Power Administration announcement earlier this month.

"Based on the two-for-one exchange agreement, BPA has received over 323,000 megawatt-hours more electricity back from California than it sent since November of last year," the agency reported. "This added power is enough to energize Seattle for 12 days."

By getting a second megawatt for every one sent, the BPA added, Bonneville was able to run less water through dams to generate power, and keep water in reservoirs.

Nor are the Californians waiting out their power shortage in hot tubs, or in floodlit shopping centers.

Department of Energy statistics show that the Golden State ranks 47th in the nation in per capita electricity consumption. California businesses and consumers slashed energy use by 8 percent in February over last year. (Seattle's power use is down by about 6 percent) The saving in California amounted to 2,578 megawatts: One megawatt is enough electricity to meet the needs of about 1,000 homes.

California bashers ignore a fact that can be seen by driving 25 miles outside of downtown Seattle in any direction. The entire West is growing and hooking onto the power grid.

"We hear about all those hot tubbers. Well, the rate of demand growth in California during the 1990s was half the national average: 85 percent of the increased demand on the grid has occurred in states outside of California," said Ralph Cavanagh, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Starting tomorrow, retail businesses in California will be required to reduce unnecessary lighting after business hours. The California Highway Patrol, sheriffs and local police will enforce the order.

Efforts under way in California make me take the argument a step further: As the Northwest braces for the second-worst snowpack runoff on record, California ought to serve as an example to its northern neighbor.

The Golden State is ahead of us in curtailment of energy use, and putting in place long-term measures to encourage conservation and renewable energy resources.

Going nowhere in the Washington Legislature is legislation that would require utilities to invest 3 percent of their revenues in energy conservation, low-income weatherization and low-income energy help.

"California has already put into place serious investment in energy conservation," said Sara Patton, executive director of the Northwest Energy Coalition. "Utilities are required to invest a certain percentage of their revenues in conservation and renewable energy resources. Oregon has it. Montana has it. Nineteen states have it. Even Texas has it."

There is a persuasive argument against writing a conservation requirement into law: The marketplace is already doing the job.

"My members are seeing the impact of rising energy costs and they don't need any additional motivation to work on efficiency," Ken Canon, executive director of Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities, told a Seattle City Club forum.

What happens, however, if the price of power goes back down? The tendency has been to cut back on cutting kilowatts.

In the latter part of the 1990s, with electricity plentiful, the Bonneville Power Administration virtually dismantled a $200-million-a-year energy conservation program. Many utilities followed suit. Seattle City Light was virtually alone in keeping its conservation investment, which has saved ratepayers millions of dollars in power purchases this winter.

The uncomfortable fact is that the Pacific Northwest faces an energy crisis of its own making.

"It is shaping up as the power equivalent of the Perfect Storm," Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., said last week. "We are having our driest years in history. We curtailed our energy conservation programs. We don't have the water in our reservoirs to flush the fish downstream. California is still likely to be short of power."

A power-desperate California did push up our electricity bills this winter, with, in all likelihood, a healthy dose of anti-competitive conniving by Texas-based energy suppliers.

Blame wastes time, and cooperation would make a trio of needed tasks lots easier:

• The Bush administration must be awakened from its policy of benign neglect, in which it refuses to impose price caps or let the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission take a leadership role in managing the Western power grid.

  "The only energy policy I hear is drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, which will not get us through this summer or any of the next few summers," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

• California must be persuaded that it can get more help out of the Northwest through cooperation than confrontation. The power grid has worked to the mutual benefit of the two regions for 30 years. We ship them kilowatts during the spring runoff. They help out on cold, dark winter days when Seattle's power use nearly doubles.

  California bashing, or arbitrary cutting back sales to the south, can only encourage our giant neighbor toward an effort to overturn the law that gives Northwest homes and farms first dibs on inexpensive hydropower from federal dams on the Columbia River.

• Washington needs to catch up with its neighbors on conservation, from efficiency codes for new homes to requiring utilities to invest in renewable energy sources. It does no good for Gov. Gary Locke to put such an investment requirement into his energy package, but then to allow all sorts of loopholes for utilities to get out of it.

"This is going to be a summer of appeals, up and down the Western power grid, for a commitment to less power use: We are not dealing with a California crisis or a Northwest shortage, this is a West-wide problem," Cavanagh said.