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Enron Mail |
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Jeff Dasovich X-To: Richard Shapiro, James D Steffes, skean@enron.com, Paul Kaufman, Sandra McCubbin, Linda Robertson, Joe Hartsoe, Susan M Landwehr, Sarah Novosel, Tom Briggs, Janel Guerrero, Harry Kingerski, Karen Denne, mpalmer@enron.com, Susan J Mara X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Steven_Kean_June2001_4\Notes Folders\Discussion threads X-Origin: KEAN-S X-FileName: skean.nsf FYI. Rep Dan Burton's House "Government Reform" committee is touring California to get info on CA's energy crisis. Yesterday, they met in Sacramento. Today, there in San Jose (Edison, PG&E and some Silicon Valley businesses are witnesses), and tomorrow they're in San Diego. The hearing was widely covered on local TV news. As the following story reflects, it was very partisan. Political shots traded at U.S. power inquiry By John Hill Bee Capitol Bureau (Published April 11, 2001) It was billed as a nonpartisan inquiry into the roots of California's energy crisis. "We're not here to assign blame," Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Tuesday at a hearing in Sacramento of a House subcommittee. "We're not here to point fingers. We're here to listen and learn." But by the end, blame had been doled out in heaping portions and the fingers had come out of their holsters. Rep. Doug Ose, the Sacramento Republican who is chairman of the panel, blasted Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, for keeping secret the details of the state's long-term electricity contracts. He raised the possibility of issuing subpoenas. So did Burton, who sharply questioned Loretta Lynch, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, about whether the commission prevented investor-owned utilities from signing long-term contracts for cheap electricity. Lynch was appointed to the commission by Davis. Lynch said the utilities were given permission and did sign contracts, but declined to give details, saying she was legally barred from doing so. "We represent the Congress of the United States," Burton fired back. "We want that information." The panel of the House Committee on Government Reform consists of 13 members, but only three attended, all of them Republicans -- Ose, Burton and Rep. Steve Horn of Long Beach. All 13 were invited, as well as members of Congress whose districts are being visited by the subcommittee, which also plans to hold hearings this week in San Jose and San Diego. "I'm frankly surprised they're not here," said Yier Shi, a spokesman for the subcommittee. "This is a bipartisan issue." But if Democrats weren't on the podium, some were in the audience, including state party campaign adviser Bob Mulholland. He called the hearing "a Republican sham to protect the Texas energy companies," and circulated quotes from former Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, praising the legislation that created deregulation. Much of the testimony focused on whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should impose price caps on wholesale electricity prices. Lynch said it was the only way to impose rationality on a "dysfunctional market" in which electricity generators and marketers are free to drive up prices far beyond what they would be in a competitive market. Others, including FERC's general counsel, Kevin Madden, called caps a bad idea that would encourage sellers to go elsewhere, reducing California's power supply. Madden also said a cap imposed by FERC would only cover about half the power bought and sold in the West. The Bee's John Hill can be reached at (916) 326-5543 or
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