the film forum library tutorial contact

Just Turning Off Lights Won't Fix Power Crisis by Editorial Board Tri-City Herald, January 10, 2001

The governors of Oregon and Washington were right to encourage Northwest citizens to cut back their electricity use last week.

But solving the power crisis facing the Northwest will take much more than citizens conscientiously turning off their lights. The problem has been brewing for years as the population has grown with little new power generation coming on line. It was brought to a head by California deregulation - which California Gov. Gray Davis this week pronounced a "dangerous and colossal failure."

Seeking to raise awareness of the Northwest's role in the roiling electrical market, Washington Gov. Gary Locke and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber resolved that they would try to keep their states above the fray. "We are not going to let the chaos of California drag us down," Locke said.

But it will take much more than pronouncements to protect the Northwest's benefits of traditionally lower cost power generated by hydroelectric dams, which are being paid for by Northwest ratepayers. On Tuesday, Davis pleaded for the Clinton administration's help in keeping a lid on a market that has some California utilities teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

But any federal solution to the problem is bound to leave the Northwest with something less than it enjoys now.

That's why it was especially disappointing when Washington state Democratic lawmakers missed an important opportunity to show leadership on a Northwest strategy by skipping the Legislative Council on River Governance meeting Saturday in Boise. The council, comprising legislators from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, passed a resolution urging governors and the states' congressional delegation to preserve the Northwest's low-cost power

Washington's Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Harriet Spanel of Bellingham sent regrets to the council that she and colleague Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Lacey, would not be able to attend because the state Legislature was to convene Monday. That's a flimsy excuse, considering the legislatures in all three of the other Northwest states also recently convened. Washington Republican lawmakers found the time to attend, including Rep. Gary Chandler of Moses Lake, who as co-chairman of the House Agriculture and Ecology Committee is Fraser's counterpart in the House on water issues.

While the Democrats' truancy is not fatal to Northwest interests, we sincerely hope this is not a sign that the looming power crisis is a low priority for Washington's Democratic lawmakers, who control the Senate and share power in the House.

While lawmakers should resist any attempt to tinker directly with the already precarious power market, they would do well to study what they can do to foster solutions. Among them might be reviewing regulations that have limited power plant construction and revising them in responsible ways and providing incentives - rather than mandates - for widespread and meaningful conservation.

Our region faces a huge transformation because of the power crisis. To weather the changes, everyone in the region must work toward solutions - whether that means citizens using fewer lights and appliances, utilities investing in conservation and power alternatives or elected officials exerting their influence to craft regional answers.