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Sec. Richardson Extends Order to Send Power South by Mike O'Bryant Columbia Basin Bulletin - December 22, 2000

While Washington and Oregon governors asked the federal government this week to cap prices on wholesale electricity, U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson extended his order to the Bonneville Power Administration to sell surplus power to California at least through Dec. 28.

BPA is continuing to comply with the order, sending south each day more than 1,700 megawatts of surplus power from Columbia River dams and other power generators. The agreement includes a two-for-one swap of energy, with California returning to the Northwest a portion of its obligation during nighttime off-peak hours.

"I'm extending my order another week; I'm not going to do this forever," Richardson said.

Gov. Gary Locke of Washington and Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon met with other western governors and federal officials Wednesday in Denver. Kitzhaber had called for the emergency meeting the previous week immediately after Richardson ordered the Northwest to send power south to help California state meet a Stage 3 power emergency that could have caused the state to institute rolling blackouts.

Also attending the meeting were the governors of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, as well as a representative of California Gov. Gray Davis. Representatives of western utilities, electric power producers, states and natural gas distributors also attended.

Both governors asked Sec. Richardson and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairmen James Hoecker to consider placing price caps on the price of wholesale electricity in order to bring California's out-of-control electric deregulation experiment under control.

"The dimension of this crisis demands the federal government use every available tool -- now," Kitzhaber said.

The governors called upon California to conserve electricity and stabilize both its prices and its power market. And, they agreed to coordinate energy conservation measures in their states to reduce the demand for electricity and reschedule usage away from peak hours, according to Locke.

However, the price cap was the most controversial proposal, but a necessary one, according to Locke, in order to bring West Coast electricity prices under control.

"The wild increase in electricity prices is a region-wide problem and it will take the cooperation of the Western states and the federal government to bring them down," Locke said. He and other governors called on President-elect George W. Bush to work with them while he is forming his new cabinet.

The governors agreed upon several principles to guide the search for solutions. According to information from Locke, those principles are:

• Solutions must help all of the West, not just California;
• Request both short- and long-term voluntary conservation measures from all consumers, especially during peak hours;
• Provide incentives to promote energy conservation, such as purchasing electricity back from industries and diverting electricity from businesses with interruptible contracts;
• Provide economic incentives to develop a clean power supply;
• Ensure a diverse power supply to avoid over-dependence on a single source;
• Achieve rate stability now for the entire winter;
• Price caps, if imposed, must apply to all sellers in the West and not penalize any state or region;
• All Western states must share equally the burden of insufficient power;

Link information:
Washington Governor's Office: www.governor.wa.gov
Oregon Governor's Office: www.governor.state.or.us
BPA: www.bpa.gov