rp_0211_7.html
AROUND THE REGION
OREGON
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed an agreement with Portland General Electric (PGE ) and 21 other organizations that will remove two dams and create a 5,000-acre wildlife and public recreation area in the Sandy River Basin just east of Portland . PGE says it will remove its Bull Run Hydroelectric projects by 2008, donate its water rights to the public, and contribute more than 1,500 acres of related lands. Dam removal will allow threatened salmon and steelhead to migrate from the Pacific Ocean to the southwest slopes of Mt. Hood . The utility's CEO, Peggy Fowler , said, "When we leave the basin, the rivers will look much as they did in the early 1900s. Wild salmon and steelhead will jump rapids where they haven't passed for the better part of a century, and one of Oregon's most scenic river gorges will be opened for public enjoyment." The Sandy and Little Sandy rivers are considered some of the best salmon and steelhead habitat in northwest Oregon.
IDAHO
Idaho Power said no thanks to the 270 MW Garnet combustion turbine plant proposed by Ida-West Energy Company , leaving the project without a source of financing. Ida-West had given the utility three options to fulfill the power purchase agreement between the two companies – Idaho Power could either buy the project outright for $11 million; buy power from Garnet and eventually purchase the plant by 2009; or purchase only the combustion turbine already contracted by Garnet. But Idaho Power filed a letter with the Public Utilities Commission saying it has cheaper options for meeting its near-term load growth and doesn't need the power from Garnet. Idaho Power believes firm wholesale power purchases and exchanges will suffice through 2011. Public interest advocates have petitioned the PUC asking Idaho Power to submit a new integrated resource plan given the collapse of the Garnet project. The PUC has not signaled whether the letter from Idaho Power outlining the utility's decision on Garnet will suffice as a response.
MONTANA
A proposal to establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in Montana may be a step closer to implementation. Or it may be lost for the foreseeable future, depending on how you see it. A legislatively appointed committee gave preliminary approval Sept. 19 to a bill setting an RPS for NorthWestern Energy , Montana's primary electric utility. Under the RPS, NorthWestern would acquire 7% of its new power from renewable resources such as wind or solar by 2005. But the RPS is only a voluntary target, not a requirement. The original RPS legislation proposed by state Sen. Emily Stonington was amended by Rep. Tom Dell to impose no mandate on NorthWestern. RPS advocates hope that the legislation will at least ensure that NorthWestern completes its 150-megawatt wind power project, and ultimately lead to a more meaningful standard. If the RPS proposal becomes law, the Montana Environmental Information Council says it will advocate amendments to make the RPS target mandatory and ramp up the level of clean energy required.
WASHINGTON
Do Avista Utilities' customers want more from energy efficiency programs than the utility will provide? Avista's six-month "Operation Conservation " effort in 2001 was wildly successful. But so many customers participated in the program that Avista had to spend $12.4 million more than it brought in from the demand-side management (DSM) tariff paid by ratepayers for efficiency investments and low-income services. The DSM tariff was initially established as a specified percent of electric and gas retail revenues. Avista did not pursue an increase in the fee in rate increases recently approved by the Utilities and Transportation Commission . Instead, Avista plans to put 38 percent of the DSM tariff through 2005 toward paying off the negative balance rather than buying more efficiency. While UTC staff favor this approach, other stakeholders say low-income programs will suffer, as will Avista's ability to respond to another energy crisis.
Quote of the Month
“These plans coincide with the worst regional economic downturn since the Great Depression . . . Before endorsing so risky and expensive a program, Northwest citizens clearly are well-advised to . . . inquire into the availability of alternatives. ”
— Recent MacArthur fellow David Goldstein , pushing a 1982 electric power and conservation plan in the face of a massive buildup of nuclear and fossil fuel plants. Two decades later, Goldstein's words still ring true.