Dem candidates make issue of power plants

Dem candidates make issue of power plants

PHOENIX - Oct 6 (The Associated Press)

Democratic candidates for the state Corporation Commission on Wednesday said the all-Republican panel's approval of new power plants stands to make Arizona an energy colony for California.

"We need a new Corporation Commission ... to put Arizona first," Manoil said.

Manoil and fellow Democrat Nina Trasoff said the plants pollute Arizona's air and use its water while producing power exported to California.

GOP incumbents rejected the criticism, saying that permit provisions protect the environment and that the power plants will benefit Arizonans even though they send power outside the state.

Manoil and Trasoff are challenging incumbent Republicans Bill Mundell, Mike Gleason and Jeff Hatch-Miller for three full four-year terms on the five-member commission, which regulates utilities, securities sales and pipeline and railroad safety.

The commission has approved about a dozen so-called merchant plants since 1998 _ along with several proposed by in-state utilities _ while rejecting two merchant projects on environmental grounds.

The Democrats say the gas-fired plants will pollute the air, drive up demand and prices for natural gas, while requiring construction of both high-voltage lines to carry power and new natural gas pipelines to fuel generators.

Republican incumbents have said that the permits contain tough air-quality and water-use provisions to protect the environment.

"We have not rubber-stamped power plants. We have denied them when we thought the impact on the environment was too great," Mundell said.

Republicans also say the commission has protected Arizona interests because the plants will provide the state with reserve power supplies once in-state utilities use their current capacities.

"We're going to need all of those merchant plants," Gleason said.

Commission spokeswoman Heather Murphy said the plants' permits include provisions giving Arizona utilities first crack at each plant's power.

"If Arizona needs that power, Arizona gets the power," Murphy said.

Construction of one power plant in Gila Bend more than doubled the taxable value of property in the local school district, said Kevin McCarthy, president of the business-supported Arizona Tax Research Association.

Trasoff acknowledged that the plants produce property taxes for state and local governments but said that benefit doesn't overcome the plants' downsides.

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On the Net:

Arizona Corporation Commission: http://www.cc.state.az.us

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .