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 Dry
reservoirs in the Northwest mean possible power outages
and high electric bills. Eighty percent of the region's
power comes from hydroelectricity. (ABCNEWS.com) No Rain,
No Power
Dry Winter Means Power Shortage for Region
By Neal
Karlinsky
The
Pacific Northwest is known for pounding, consistent rain.
Without
that rain the region could be headed for catastrophic power
shortages and massive rate increases. California Governor
Gray Davis met with President Clinton today and asked for
an extension to ease his state’s energy crisis and
prevent imminent blackouts. Farther north in Tacoma, residents
are shelling out more money during their state’s power
crisis. The Pacific Northwest may have to rely on California
to supply them with power since the area’s resources
are thinning.
Roughly
80 percent of all power used in the Northwest comes from
hydroelectricity. Because there’s usually so much rain
in the region, residents have enjoyed some of the lowest
rates in the nation. But that, like the constant rain, has
come to an end, at least for now.
“The
situation now I would consider an emergency as far as we’re
concerned,” said Mark Crisson, president of Tacoma
Public Utilities.
This
year, the reservoirs that feed the dams needed to produce
this power have nearly dried up. Dams and reservoirs have
reached the driest point they’ve seen in 70 years,
according to officials. Forecasts do not call for more rain
in the area this winter, either.
“Across
Washington State reservoirs are reaching levels not ever
seen before,” Crisson said.
Lights Out in Tacoma
Without hydroelectric power, utilities are being forced
to buy electricity on the open market where prices have
soared largely due to power shortages in California. As
a result, utilities in cities like Tacoma, Washington have
raised rates nearly 50 percent to keep up with the costs.
The rate hikes are forcing residents to shut off their lights
and to turn down their thermostats.
“I
don’t want to use all my money that I should normally
use for food to pay an electric bill,” said Tacoma
resident Evelyn Undziakiewicz.
There
is an aggressive campaign by congressional delegations and
the governors from Washington and Oregon to get federal
relief from the power rate problems in the Northwest. Washington
Gov. Gary Locke is angry that the Federal Regulatory Commission
has protected California rate payers by placing a cap on
wholesale power rates there but refused to do the same for
other customers in the West. Locke, and the others, believe
Washington rate payers are paying for California’s
problems.
“Frankly,
the Federal Regulatory Commission has left West Coast customers
twisting in the wind,” Crisson said.
Rain
is Best Solution
Mel White, president of C and C Containers Corp., a bottling
plant, has brought in diesel generators to cut costs. At
his Tacoma-based plant, lights are turned off in offices
and the rest of the plant uses only bare lighting to keep
costs at a minimum.
“The
situation must change for us to stay in business,”
he said. “I think over the next few months you’re
going to see a lot of smaller companies declare bankruptcy,
have a lot more layoffs.”
In
a normal year up to 25 percent of the Northwest’s power
during the winter months comes from California. Producers
there are borrowing on pollution credits for next year to
ramp up production but power managers here don’t expect
much help from the South in the next month or two.
The
best solution is more rain which would help bring the hydroelectric
facilities back to capacity. But history has shown that
when there is a dry November and December then there is
only a 10 percent to 15 percent chance of a wet January
and February.
The
worst case scenario is extreme cold weather with no rain,
which would mean extremely high rates and the possibility
of rolling blackouts.
ABCNEWS’ Mike Gudgell and Ray Homer contributed
to this report.
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