Jun 07, 2006 -- The Energy Daily/Access Intelligence

 

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman acknowledged Tuesday that electricity restructuring has not unfolded without problems, but said solutions will have to come at the state and local--not the federal--level.

"Our electricity transmission and delivery system has developed over the years in a fashion that varies widely over our country," said Bodman at a breakfast meeting co-sponsored by The Energy Daily and the Community Power Alliance, a trade group representing traditional integrated electric utilities. "I think that we see some very good successes from the deregulatory efforts and we see some areas where we clearly had problems."

Bodman's remarks were prompted by a question that referred to the situation in Maryland, where customers are now facing dramatic rate increases that coincide with the transition to market-based power prices under the state's deregulation program. Illinois is facing similar problems and deregulation also has been bumpy in California and Ohio while Texas' deregulated market is seeing rising prices.

"I think that there are some issues that will have to be worked out in individual states and individual communities," Bodman said. "It's clear that we don't have a situation where one solution fits everything."

The theme of Tuesday's meeting was "Ensuring Reliable Electricity for Summer 2006 and Beyond," and Bodman underscored recent efforts by utilities and state governments to facilitate the siting and building of new transmission lines in order to reduce grid congestion. He also said DOE is in the process of preparing a report "to highlight major trouble spots in our power grid so bottlenecks can be removed..."

Bodman also highlighted his department's efforts to boost energy conservation and new clean sources of electricity.

He noted that DOE announced Tuesday that it will provide private industry with $7 million in grants for projects to develop solid-state lighting, which could potentially double the efficiency of general lighting projects.

He also talked about the department's FutureGen project to develop clean coal and carbon sequestration technologies to diversify the U.S. energy portfolio.

On nuclear power, he said he expects to see "six plants built and operating by the year 2015.

"It strikes me that we need to develop the technical breakthroughs both on coal and on nuclear that--my hope is--that will provide opportunity for the market to work," he said.

The Energy Daily, Vol. 34, No. 108

News Provided By