Kerry's Energy Policy Diverges Sharply From Bush's
Aug 14 - Seattle Post - Intelligencer
PLEDGING A "MANHATTAN-type project" to develop alternative energy sources, and aggressive moves to prevent Enron-style manipulation of power markets, Sen. John Kerry yesterday came courting the Pacific Northwest.
In a telephone interview, Kerry took aim at manipulation of the West Coast's
power markets by traders from the now-bankrupt, Houston- based Enron Corp.
during 2000-2001.
"What we've seen out of the Bush administration is barely any talk, and
no action," Kerry said.
"I will appoint regulators who will protect the ratepayers, not bend the
rules in order to protect those manipulating the market," he added.
"What we've seen (in Enron actions) is disgusting. It is unreal. It
merits an aggressive response. I want to bring transparency to the energy
marketplace."
Audiotapes released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have revealed
that Enron traders developed schemes for manipulating energy prices and gave
them names: "Death Star," "Ping Pong,"
"Sidewinder," "Donkey Punch," "Spread Play" and
"Russian Roulette."
The documents show Enron traders concealing sources of power and planning to
deliberately congest the Northwest power grid.
When a wildfire shut down a key transmission line, causing a shortage and
raising prices, one trader borrowed lyrics from Sly and the Family Stone,
exulting: "The magical word of the day is `Burn, Baby, Burn.'"
At another point, a trader joked in profane terms about "all the money
you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California."
Enron hated price caps and campaigned for deregulation of the energy market.
In recorded conversations, Enron traders exulted at the Bush administration
taking power, at one point joking about (now- indicted) Enron Chairman Kenneth
Lay becoming secretary of the Energy Department.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is working on another case of Enron
profiteering during the 2000-2001 power crunch. It will reportedly be disclosed
next week.
Aides to Cantwell say there is evidence that the company's traders took
electricity generated during the Pacific Northwest's spring runoff, diverted it
from traditional markets in California, and sold the power at a higher price in
the Southwest.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is charged with ensuring that
electrical rates are "just and reasonable." But the agency is
reluctant to roll back contracts negotiated by Enron at a time when it was
manipulating the power market.
The commission tried to block the Snohomish County Public Utility District
from obtaining tapes of the Enron traders' conversations.
As an issue, Enron could strike sparks up and down the West Coast in this
year's presidential race.
Nicknamed "Kenny Boy" by the president, Lay and his wife, Linda,
were major early donors and fund-raisers, from Bush's 1994 Texas gubernatorial
race to the 2000 presidential election.
The Washington Post recently disclosed Enron's role in House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay's plan to redraw Texas' congressional district boundaries to elect as
many as seven additional Republicans.
Lay was given a private meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001 as
the Bush administration put together its energy plan. He recommended a young
advocate of energy deregulation, Patrick Wood III, to become chairman of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Kerry and Bush are going head-to-head for support in the Northwest.
Both candidates have events scheduled in Portland today. Bush is flying to
Seattle later for a $2,500-a-plate Republican fund- raising dinner at the Lake
Washington mansion of former Simpson Timber Chairman Gary Reed.
Kerry is scheduled to be in the state on Aug. 27, for a fund- raiser in
Seattle as well as a possible Eastern Washington appearance. Possible
destinations include Spokane and the Tri- Cities, a population center created by
the original Manhattan Project - the World War II drive to develop an atomic
bomb.
The Democratic candidate has a 51 percent-to-43 percent lead among Washington
voters in a KING/5 poll released last week.
Tim Hibbitts, an independent Portland pollster, feels that Kerry is running
stronger in Oregon than Al Gore, who carried the state by fewer than 7,000 votes
in 2000. "I don't fault Bush for coming here, and I don't dismiss his
chances," Hibbitts said, "but he is running 7 to 10 points behind.
It's a real long shot he will carry Oregon."
Bush has repeatedly criticized the U.S. Senate for failing to enact energy
legislation.
A House-passed energy bill, backed by Bush, is heavily geared toward
investment in fossil fuels and nuclear power. It would open the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling.
Kerry argued yesterday that the country should go in a different direction,
combining new technologies with upgrading vital infrastructure such as the
nation's power lines. He noted that America's largest wind energy farm sits on
the Washington-Oregon border.
"I want to push technologies such as wind turbines, biomass and biofuels
grids," he said. "Early this year, for instance, I went to a project
funded by the University of Northern Iowa. They produce a lubricant made out of
soy for use on railroads. It is 99 percent biodegradable, versus oil lubricants
that are zero percent.
Kerry also pledged to create a $20 billion fund for investment in energy
conservation and efficiency.
"We can set and meet a goal of getting 20 percent of America's
electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020," said Kerry.
Oft-feuding Democratic constituencies - blue-collar unions and greens of the
environmental movement - are united behind the plan.
P-I columnist Joel Connelly can be reached at 206-448-8160 or joelconnelly@seattlepi.com
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