Future of West's Power Uncertain; Demand Could Outpace Supply

PORTLAND, Ore. - Nov 26 - Augusta Chronicle, The

There is one thing that just about everybody agrees has to be done about the thousands of miles of electricity transmission lines that crisscross the West - build more of them.

But who pays for them? Who controls them? How much should it cost to use them?

Utility managers and regulators say those questions need to be answered soon - before demand outstrips the power supply to some of the fastest-growing areas of the nation.

Otherwise, the risk of a blackout like the one that left the East Coast in the dark in 2003 rises.

Bonneville Power Administration two years ago completed a transmission system expansion in the Seattle area, reducing the risk of massive power failure there.

"It reinforced a key link that would have, for sure, put the Seattle area in danger of blackouts had it not been constructed," said Ed Mosey, a spokesman for the Portland-based federal power marketing agency.

In Arizona, the largest utility in the state is proposing a new $3 billion pair of 500,000-volt lines to bring power 600 miles from coal and wind turbine plants in Wyoming. It would also let Arizona Public Service Co. send power north.

"Arizona's one of the two fastest-growing areas of the country, along with Nevada," said Jim McDonald, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service.

The utility relies on coal, nuclear and natural gas-fired generating plants for electricity to accommodate growth that includes Arizona cities like Gilbert, which topped the U.S. Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing cities with at least 100,000 new people from April 2000 to July 2004.

But all that generating capacity has to have a way to reach new businesses and homes - meaning more high-voltage wires, Mr. McDonald said.

"So it's very important to have additional infrastructure in the West because of the way the region is growing," he said.

On Nov. 17, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed transmission pricing reforms to promote what commissioners said was long overdue investment in energy infrastructure.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which President Bush signed in August, directed the commission to develop incentive-based rates for interstate power transmission. The reforms adopted Nov. 17 will implement those incentives and provide regulatory certainty needed to reassure utilities and investors, officials said.

The goal is to increase reliability and lower costs by reducing transmission congestion between states, commissioners said.

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