Schwarzenegger Vetos Energy Shortage Plan
Sep 25 - Associated Press/AP Online
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have required utilities to prepare long-range plans to meet their customers' power needs, a change that supporters said would keep electricity prices from skyrocketing.
"This bill creates a redundant and burdensome energy procurement process
that would steer the state back toward monopoly utilities without some of the
consumer protections necessary to protect rate payers," the Republican
governor said in a veto message.
Nunez, a Democrat, said the veto will delay construction of new power plants
and leave the state's energy market in control of the "power pirates,"
a reference to independent producers that drove up energy prices during 2000 and
2001.
"This legislation contained all the elements needed to protect rate
payers and stimulate investment in new power plants that our state desperately
needs to avoid blackouts," he said.
Nunez and Bowen said direct access was dropped from the bill out of concern
that residential and small business customers would get stuck subsidizing large
commercial users of electricity.
When wholesale electricity prices jumped during 2000 and 2001, independent
producers passed on the higher costs to their customers, who then fled back to
utilities, which already were having problems finding power for their customers.
The Legislature later halted direct access when wholesale prices dropped
again and customers tried to leave the utilities, which had run up massive debt
buying high-priced power but selling it at capped prices.
The bill would have allowed utilities to build their own power plants if the
California Public Utilities determined that was the most cost-efficient
electricity source. Without it, Bowen said, utilities will have to continue to
buy power from private generators at unregulated prices.
"The governor's entire energy policy seems to resolve around raising
power rates for homeowners and renters and shoving as much business to ...
independent generators as he can," Bowen said.
But Schwarzenegger said he wanted to ensure "sufficient supplies of
reliable, competitively priced electricity" and would work with lawmakers
to "bring clarity and consistency to California's energy policy in the
coming months."
Schwarzenegger also vetoed a bill that would have required utilities to
obtain at least 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010 instead
of 2017. Schwarzenegger contended the bill would have created an "onerous
process" that would impede reaching its goal.
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Associated Press Writer Jennifer Coleman contributed to this report. For far more extensive news on the energy/power
visit: http://www.energycentral.com
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