Power crisis moving up Bush's agenda

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http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/california/stories/cheney_20010129.htm Published Monday, January 29, 2001

Power crisis moving up Bush's agenda By Greg Toppo ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney blamed California's energy problems on "a flawed deregulation scheme" and said Sunday that cumbersome state regulations have prevented any major power plant construction during the past decade.

The White House planned a strategy meeting today on the problem and is dispatching top energy officials to see governors of Western states affected by the power crunch.

"We'll begin to focus on this" at the meeting to which President Bush has "summoned the relevant Cabinet and agency heads, Cheney said on "Fox News Sunday."

The problem has prompted Bush to extend Clinton administration directives that force outside power suppliers to keep shipping electricity to California's debt-ridden utilities.

Cheney said on ABC's "This Week" that the problem was caused by "a flawed deregulation scheme" in California, where the regulatory process is "so long and drawn-out in terms of getting permission to build anything that there haven't been any major power plants built in California in the last 10 years -- even though power consumption is up by 20 percent."

One step the administration is taking is sending Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Curt L. Hebert Jr., the newly appointed head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to meet this week with Western governors in Portland.

California's utilities are caught in a crunch between soaring fuel prices and a state law that holds down the prices to consumers. The state's two investor-owned utilities are facing bankruptcy, and rolling blackouts have temporarily shut down many small and energy-intensive businesses, forcing thousands of layoffs.

Meanwhile, electricity costs are rising across much of the West.

In one of his first acts as president, Bush extended by two weeks -- until midnight Feb. 6 -- directives put in place by the Clinton administration to force power suppliers to continue shipping electricity to California. The move will ensure that the state gets power, but Bush made it clear he did so reluctantly and would not issue further extensions.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., complained to Bush last week that Oregon is "in jeopardy of becoming an energy farm to California."

Arizona Gov. Jane Hull has told administration officials that California's energy problems are starting to affect Arizona, where one small utility said its customers will likely see their bills rise by 300 percent next month.

Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge Corp., citing higher power costs as a factor, said Friday it may reduce operations at three copper sites in Arizona and New Mexico, where 2,360 people are employed.

Also last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a congressional committee that the California crisis threatens to undermine the country's economic expansion. He said the problem must be addressed "rather quickly."

The crisis will likely give Bush, a former oilman, a chance to promote his energy agenda -- more exploration on federal lands, including drilling in Alaska, more oil and gas pipelines and helping Mexico develop its energy reserves.

Bush has called California's energy crisis "a warning sign about what could happen if our nation does not have a concerted effort to explore and bring more energy into the country."

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 29, 2001

Answers

I guess they're taking about Zapata oil which the older Bush managed for a while. Zapata oil is about the biggest flop in ten counties.

-- David Williams (DAVIDWILL@prodigy.net), January 29, 2001.

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