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SACRAMENTO, California, US, October 19, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
An increasing number of renewable energy
organizations are fighting a ballot measure proposed for the state
of California, which they claim will stop consumers from buying
green power.
In July, the Supreme Court reinstated Proposition 80 (Electric
Service Providers. Regulation. Initiative Statute) for a special
election ballot to be held in November, but the measure is “a
high-risk approach that could hurt consumers, the environment and
the state's economy” because it will “undercut construction of
environmentally-friendly renewable energy generation from wind,
solar and geothermal resources,” claims ‘Californians for Reliable
Electricity,’ a coalition that says it receives major funding from
Calpine, a major geothermal developer in the state.
Among the organizations that endorse the group are the American Wind
Energy Association, California Solar Energy Industries Association
and Geothermal Energy Association, as well as the California
Independent Petroleum Association, Independent Energy Producers
Association and Western States Petroleum Association. Non-energy
supporters include the Building Owners & Managers Association of
California, California Chamber of Commerce, California Retailers
Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, Boeing and the California Public Utilities Commission.
The measure would “sharply restrict consumer choice about who we buy
our electricity from and how much we pay for services; it could well
lead us down the road toward another serious energy crisis” because
it is the “wrong way to make energy policy for California,” the
group explains. “Reinventing California's energy system through the
initiative process, without public hearings is too great a risk to
take. Instead, this critical issue should be addressed carefully
through public hearings that involve all affected parties, including
the state Utility and Energy Commissions, consumer groups and small
business associations.”
Proposition 80 would make it “extremely difficult” to improve the
state's standards for generating green power, which could “seriously
undermine adoption of wind, solar and geothermal technologies” and
put the growth of green businesses at risk. It would limit the
market for increasing solar, wind and geothermal energy resources
“even if demanded by consumers,” and increase the cost of energy for
a range of public agencies.
Problems remain in the state power system and need to be fixed, the
group concedes, but fundamental changes should not be made through
the initiative process that would allow voters to regulate the
sector. The measure is an “aftershock” of the problems in 2000 and
2001 that resulted in blackouts, high spot market prices and
bankrupt utilities.
Investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern
California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric) sold many of their
fossil-fuel facilities to private firms but regulators refused to
allow utilities to sign long-term contracts with them. The result
was bankruptcy by PG&E.
Supporters promise long-term power stability and greater investment
in new energy supplies, but there would be limits on consumers'
ability to switch providers. They claim the measure benefits the
environment, but opponents counter that a drafting error places a
cap on state renewable energy goals that can be lifted only by a
two-thirds vote of the Legislature or by passing another initiative.
Proposition 80 also prohibits consumers from choosing 100% green
power, claim opponents, and allows high energy users to avoid peak
rates that are designed to discourage consumption on summer
afternoons.
“Proposition 80 would lock in renewable energy goals established
back in 2002, even though environmental groups and governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger have urged that California should set higher targets
for renewable energy,” says John White of the environmental policy
advocacy organization Clean Power Campaign.
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