Perata re energy conservation, rates

Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001
From: "Perata, Don" <Don.Perata [at] sen.ca.gov>
Subject: Energy Update (Vol. 14)

March 19, 2001

Today we got word that rolling blackouts and Stage Three Energy Alerts have
returned. According to the state's oversight agency (ISO), this was due to
higher than normal
temperatures and more than 2000 megawatts of generation taken out of
production in the state. Sources tell us that two factors caused the
generation facilities to go down. One, the "unexpected" unscheduled
maintenance of a large facility in Mojave. The other, two smaller facilities
shutting down production because they are owed money from the utilities and
refuse to extend any more credit to them. (We have asked why the state
doesn't pay these creditors instead of the utilities, since if they sue the
utilities, bankruptcy will result either way!)

Regardless, California is already in it's anticipated summertime crisis -
and it's not yet Spring!

Clearly, we need to advance our commitment to immediate and stringent short
term conservation. While I favor paying small users for saving energy, I
also want to raise rates for large users as a market sensitive devise to
decrease use in the summer months. Unless the governor and PUC demand
conservation, we cannot hope to curtail electrical use sufficiently enough
to prevent structural damage to our economy and environment this summer.

Please write the governor now to ask him to impose rate increases on large
commercial and residential users immediately, as well as divert the use of
taxpayer money where it will do the most good: conservation.

Thank you.