BPA acts in face of power crisis

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BPA acts in face of power crisis Columbia River dam flows increased; move puts migrating salmon at risk

Friday, January 19, 2001

By BILL VIRGIN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The Bonneville Power Administration yesterday began running more water through electricity-generating turbines at lower Columbia River dams -- putting spring salmon runs at risk -- as the lights blinked off in California and power prices tripled in a matter of hours.

BPA made the move because of concern that the continued California energy crisis, and the high bills that have resulted, could create a cash crunch at the region's biggest power distributor.

As California struggled through a second day of rolling power blackouts that hit 2 million homes and businesses, BPA -- which supplies 45 percent of the Northwest's power -- dealt with the Pacific Northwest's own power supply squeeze by releasing more water from Grand Coulee Dam, rather than buy high-priced electricity on the open market.

The move carries some risks. Draining water from reservoirs now could mean less water available in spring to help salmon migrating downriver.

But Acting BPA Administrator Steve Wright told an industry conference in Bellevue yesterday the impact on fish could be minimized if there is heavy snowfall in the weeks ahead, and he decided to deal with the problem at hand.

"We're addressing a clear and present danger as opposed to a potential danger," Wright said.

Wright said he took the action after seeing spot-market prices jump from $200 a megawatt hour to $400 yesterday, and then to $750 yesterday morning. BPA has already spent $50 million on power this week alone, to make up the gap between what is generated on the Columbia River system and what is used by the region's homes and businesses.

Sustained astronomical spot-market power prices threatened to drain its reserves and put it in a cash crunch, he added.

Water flows below Bonneville Dam were increased from 130,000 cubic feet per second to as high as 160,000 cubic feet per second, depending on how much power is needed, said BPA spokeswoman Dulcy Mahar.

Wright said BPA can increase stream flows, above the National Marine Fisheries Service's recommendation, if it perceives power availability may be threatened.

"My hope is we won't have to do this very much," he added.

Wright also said yesterday that BPA expects to announce several more deals in the next few days similar to those signed with two aluminum smelters to reduce demand on the system and free up electricity and "create stability in the market."

California's blackouts began about 10 a.m. and stretched from the Bakersfield area of central California to Oregon, 500 miles away. The rolling outages lasted about two hours.

Power managers said they expected to have enough power to avoid more blackouts at nightfall, though more problems were possible today.

The crisis temporarily shut down California's main gasoline artery for more than 10 hours for the third consecutive day, raising the threat of widespread fuel shortages. The California pipeline, which distributes up to 900,000 barrels of gasoline during a normal day, didn't operate for 18 hours Wednesday and 10 hours Tuesday.

Hospitals and airports were exempt from the outages. Home-care patients who rely on electrically powered medical equipment because of lung disease or other ailments usually have batteries or backup generators.

Utilities refused to disclose which areas were blacked out, but the effects were obvious. Traffic lights went out for a second day across the San Francisco Bay area, causing fender-benders in Palo Alto. Computer screens went dark, heaters and bank machines were silent and lights went out in classrooms.

There were ripples through the region's high-tech community -- with Intel Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett saying he won't build any more chip-making plants in the Silicon Valley because the electricity is as erratic as that in India. In addition, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which represents 190 computer companies, says some members are seriously considering moving out of state. So does the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, which speaks for 800 manufacturers.

The power outage in Sun City Lincoln Hills, a retirement community near Sacramento, prompted Jim Datzman, 62, and his wife, Sandy, 59, to take their two grandsons to a community playground. The 2-year-old twins, Corbin and Quinn, had been watching Barney on television when the power went out.

"We saw a lot of our neighbors lifting our garages up manually, which of course isn't too good for seniors," Datzman said.

With no end to the crisis in sight, Californians began stocking up on flashlights, candles and firewood. Stores were swamped with calls from businesses looking for generators.

The Independent System Operator, keeper of the state power grid, said the latest blackouts were caused by reduced power production in the Northwest, where hydroelectric dams are low on water. One megawatt is enough to power 1,000 homes at any given moment.

That notion was disputed by BPA, which said it has continued to swap power with California, sending it south between 4 and 9 p.m. BPA is supposed to get twice the power back, half of that within 24 hours. While Bonneville gets the power back in the wee hours of the morning, that still helps since it allows the agency to rebuild water reserves.

"We're the help, we're not the hurt," Mahar said.

California's first mandatory blackouts came Wednesday, also in northern and central California. Northern California has faced the outages first because of a transmission-line bottleneck that makes it harder for the northern part of the state to bring in power. Southern California has been spared from rolling blackouts so far.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency and ordered the state Water Resources Department to temporarily buy up to $1 billion in power from wholesalers and provide it to the state's two largest utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison. Both are short on power and in deep financial trouble.

Davis made no mention of making the utilities pay for the power. That means the cost could fall on the taxpayers.

In the Legislature, meanwhile, lawmakers tried to work out longer-term solutions under which the state would buy even larger amounts of power for up to five years. However, many lawmakers were concerned about whether the state would get its money back from the utilities.

"We are in a terrible situation," said Sen. Debra Bowen, who heads the Senate energy committee.

The governor signed legislation yesterday afternoon overhauling the ISO board to remove those with a direct stake in buying and selling power. Instead, the governor will appoint a five-member board.

Davis also signed a second piece of legislation that would roll back California's deregulation by dropping a requirement that utilities sell their power plants.

Under the state's deregulation plan, utilities were forced to sell their power plants and buy electricity on the open market, an approach that was supposed to lead to lower rates. But wholesale prices for electricity have soared and rate caps have prevented utilities from passing on those costs to customers.

PG&E and SoCal Edison estimate they have lost more than $11 billion. They have both defaulted on millions of dollars in bills and lender payments and have warned that they are sliding toward bankruptcy.

SoCal Edison was forced to buy power outside the state Power Exchange yesterday after missing a deadline for paying $215 million to cover the utility's unpaid bills.

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/lite19.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 19, 2001

Answers

Hi! Sure enjoy your site. I live right on the lower Columbia River, between two dams. They've done a LOT of work to save those fish. Seems like a shame to let this happen. Haven't noticed the water rising in the river yet. In fact, it's very shallow right now. Hmmmmm

-- Sammy Ross (lcross@quicktel.com), January 19, 2001.

I have always wondered what would happen when it came down to crunch time of power versus salmon. It looks like the salmon are on the losing end.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 19, 2001.

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