|
|
Enron Mail |
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Jeff Dasovich X-To: Alan Comnes, Angela Schwarz, Beverly Aden, Bill Votaw, Brenda Barreda, Carol Moffett, Cathy Corbin, Chris H Foster, Christina Liscano, Craig H Sutter, Dan Leff, Debora Whitehead, Dennis Benevides, Don Black, Dorothy Youngblood, Douglas Huth, Edward Sacks, Eric Melvin, Erika Dupre, Evan Hughes, Fran Deltoro, Gayle W Muench, Ginger Dernehl, Gordon Savage, Harold G Buchanan, Harry Kingerski, Iris Waser, James D Steffes, James W Lewis, James Wright, Jeff Messina, Jeremy Blachman, Jess Hewitt, Joe Hartsoe, Karen Denne, Kathy Bass, Kathy Dodgen, Ken Gustafson, Kevin Hughes, Leasa Lopez, Leticia Botello, Mark S Muller, Marsha Suggs, Marty Sunde, Meredith M Eggleston, Michael Etringer, Michael Mann, Michelle D Cisneros, mpalmer@enron.com, Neil Bresnan, Neil Hong, Paul Kaufman, Paula Warren, Richard L Zdunkewicz, Richard Leibert, Richard Shapiro, Rita Hennessy, Roger Yang, Rosalinda Tijerina, Sandra McCubbin, Sarah Novosel, Scott Gahn, Scott Stoness, Sharon Dick, skean@enron.com, Tanya Leslie, Tasha Lair, Ted Murphy, Terri Greenlee, Tim Belden, Tony Spruiell, Vicki Sharp, Vladimir Gorny, Wanda Curry, William S Bradford, Kathryn Corbally, Jubran Whalan, triley@enron.com, Richard B Sanders, Robert C Williams, Greg Wolfe, James Wright, Dirk vanUlden, Steve Walker, Jennifer Rudolph, Martin Wenzel, Douglas Condon, wgang@enron.com, Scott Govenar <sgovenar@govadv.com<, Hedy Govenar <hgovenar@govadv.com< @ ENRON, jklauber@llgm.com, Mike D Smith, John Neslage, Janel Guerrero, Eric Letke, Richard B Sanders, gfergus@brobeck.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Steven_Kean_June2001_4\Notes Folders\Discussion threads X-Origin: KEAN-S X-FileName: skean.nsf State's Power Purchases Costlier Than Projected Tab is $6 million a day over Davis' requests Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Friday, March 16, 2001 ,2001 San Francisco Chronicle Sacramento -- California has spent about $6 million more a day buying electrical power than originally projected, according to a confidential document obtained yesterday by The Chronicle. State power buyers spent $2.7 billion between Jan. 17 and March 11, averaging $49 million a day. That amounts to about $6 million a day more than lawmakers figured using Gov. Gray Davis' appropriations requests. The confidential document was prepared by the Department of Water Resources, which purchases power on behalf of the state. It was handed to a group of lawmakers in a subcommittee hearing Wednesday by Water Resources Director Tom Hannigan. To the public, the document presents the first day-by-day look at how much California is spending on power purchases. Although the document shows more money being spent than originally believed, it didn't startle any of the handful of senators and Assembly members who saw it. "I don't think it was a surprise," said Assemblyman Dick Dickerson, R- Redding. Although the state is supposed to recoup the money spent on electricity, analysts and lawmakers say the open spigot on the state's treasury could jeopardize the state budget and fiscal well-being in the short and long term. For example, the state's power spending could jeopardize new education programs and transportation projects. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst warned last month that lawmakers shouldn't count on all the new projects in Davis' proposed budget. Also, California has already been placed on a watch list by several credit rating firms, because of the deep debt that could be incurred in helping the utilities become financially stable. The watch list typically precedes a credit rating drop, which would cause the state's interest on bonds and loans to rise. "This (power purchasing) has a dampening effect," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, an independent policy group that tracks state spending. "Nobody knows where the economy is going, and how the energy crisis will affect it, so no one will know what the revenues will look like in the future." The biggest day of power buying happened on Feb. 16 when the state spent nearly $81 million for electricity, or $435 per megawatt hour. The smallest day was March 10 when the state buyers spent $40 million, or $219 per megawatt hour. Michael Worm, an analyst with the investment firm Gerald Klauer Mattison & Co., said what the state paid was in line with current energy prices. "That's where energy prices more or less have been for quite some time," he said. "Of course, they are dramatically higher than they used to be." The governor's office has refused to release information on how much the state has spent, said Steve Maviglio, Davis' spokesman. Maviglio said if generators found out how much the state spent the day before, they could force up the price the next day. But Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, said the public had a right to know how its money way being spent. "People need to know exactly what it is costing to keep the lights on," he said. "We want to know the whole story -- not just pieces." Strickland, along with media organizations including The Chronicle, have filed public records act requests to obtain information on how much the state has spent, along with the details of long-term power contracts signed by Davis. The original bill that authorized the state to purchase power appropriated only $500 million, but allowed the governor to use up to $10 billion if needed for power purchases by notifying lawmakers. The governor's office has sent five letters since Feb. 5 to lawmakers notifying them that additional money was needed. Based on these letters, which in total have requested an additional $2.5 billion, the news media and lawmakers estimated that the state was spending $43 million a day -- $6 million less than the actual costs shown on the Water Resources document. Since the state began purchasing electricity, the health of its budget has become dependent on a variety of things to come, making it as fragile as a house of cards. The money spent on power is taken from the state's general fund and is supposed to be returned through the issuance of state bonds. The bonds will be paid for with a portion of the rates that utility customers pay every month. - Tell Us What You Think Can you save 20 percent on your energy usage? Gov. Gray Davis is offering rebates for Californians who save on power starting in June, and if you've got a strategy for conserving, The Chronicle wants to hear it. Contact the Energy Desk, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103; or e- mail energysaver@sfchronicle.com. -- E-mail Lynda Gledhill at lgledhill@sfchronicle.com. Paying for Power These charts show what the state spent for electricity on the spot market and the average price paid. For the time frame of Jan. 17 through Feb. 14, only periodic totals and averages were given. Period Amount spent 9 p.m. Jan. 17 through Jan. 18 $13,595,121 Jan. 19 - 29 399,000,000 Jan. 29 - 31 136,546,472 Feb. 1 - 12 495,755,000 Feb. 12 - 14 152,087,316 Chronicle Graphic ,2001 San Francisco Chronicle ? Page?A - 11
|