CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018, OR THEREAFTER
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“STATE NARROWLY ESCAPES DANGER OF REGIONAL
GRID”
For
months, the concept of a Western regional electricity grid advanced steadily
through the Legislature, pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown and a phalanx of financial
and utility giants including investor Warren Buffett and the AES electric
generating firm, operator of 127 power plants.
The regional grid was to span the
full Pacific Coast, plus interior states like Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada.
California would cede control of its own electric transmission system to a new
board named at least in part by utilities and other generating companies.
The fox would run the henhouse,
with California consumers likely to be prime victims again, as they were the
last time this state gave control of its power supply to outsiders – the 1998
deregulation plan that led to rolling brownouts for almost a year during the
energy crunch of 2000 and 2001.
But
Brown pushed hard for it, determined to create as many solar thermal power
plants as possible. California already has several of these, the most visible
at Ivanpah, just across the state line from Nevada a few miles west of the I-15
freeway south of Las Vegas.
This
plan is not dead yet. It could put California power customers at the mercy of
out-of-state companies analogous to the disgraced and now-defunct Houston-based
Enron Corp.
The
grid change was merely delayed, not killed, in the just-ended legislative
session, even though it deserved to die. “We will continue this important
discussion next year,” said Democratic state Senate President Pro Tem Toni
Atkins as she at the last moment denied the bill, known as AB813, a vote by the
full Senate after it passed through several committees.
This
pernicious plan was pushed by some companies that actually were peripheral
players in the energy crunch which eventually sent executives of Enron and
several other big power companies to prison. It probably was shelved because no
one knew just how much it would cost Californians. Among those behind it were
Duke Energy and Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Companies and their subsidiary
PacificCorp., the largest electric utility in the Pacific Northwest. Both were
players during deregulation and the disaster that followed.
Also
behind it were green organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and the
Natural Resources Defense Council, which want renewable energy expanded quickly
no matter what it costs consumers. They allied with owners of huge solar
thermal plants like BrightSource Energy and SunPower Corp.
It was
a tough alliance to beat in lobbyist-infested Sacramento. But the regional grid
appeared to lose steam at almost the last possible moment before the latest
two-year legislative session ended at midnight Aug. 31. That was when consumer
lawyer Mike Aguirre, formerly the elected city attorney of San Diego, released
scores of Brown administration emails acquired via the state’s public records
law. They showed Brown’s administration and the state Public Utilities
Commission withheld a fiscal impact report on the regional grid.
Legislators
normally demand such a report before passing far-reaching laws, but went along
without it for months until Atkins finally acted. A fiscal report was supposed
to come at midsummer, but on the day it was due, an administration
representative informed the Senate Appropriations Committee there would be no
report.
Aguirre
described the emails as leaving “a trail to the governor and the PUC president
(Michael Picker, a former Brown aide).”
Meanwhile,
backers of the regional grid insisted it would allow California solar plants to
sell renewable energy cheaply into other states, undermining demand for power
generated with fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas.
This
would benefit the companies backing the plan and be greener, but probably would
raise prices for Californians. No one explained why excess energy generated in
California sunshine can’t be saved in large batteries for later use.
The
bottom line: The alertness of one lawyer and Atkins’ apparent response to it
quite possibly saved Californians from a repeat of the energy crunch, where
California-produced power was sent out of state, some of it getting sold back
here at hugely-inflated prices. But this may only be a respite, so consumer
advocates must remain ready to resist the idea again and again until it finally
dies.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
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