Deseret News, Sunday, December 17, 2000

Leavitt fears Utahns may face big jumps in gas, power bills

He urges consumers to conserve to avoid an energy crisis

By Pat Reavy Deseret News staff writer

The energy crisis in California and throughout the West will undoubtedly lead to higher gas and electric bills for Utahns — and the situation could get worse unless changes, from consumer behavior to long-term energy development, are made in the Beehive State, Gov. Mike Leavitt and other leaders warned Saturday.

Leavitt compares Utah's power situation to a canoe on a river heading toward a waterfall. And the state needs to start paddling in a different direction before it goes over the falls, he told representatives from the power industry and consumer services and environmental quality agencies.

Leavitt had summoned the group Saturday to the Governor's Board Room in the Capitol to talk about this winter's emerging energy crisis and what Utah needs to do to prepare for the future — and to get work started on an energy summit he's called for Jan. 5.

"It has become evident we're in a very dynamic environment as far as energy is concerned," Leavitt said.

The participants agreed the bottom line is that Utah will be OK in the short run but residents need to learn to conserve and the state must find new energy sources.

If the state goes through a stretch of unseasonably cold weather, the situation could conceivably become even worse, Leavitt said.

The governor asked and assigned those present at Saturday's meeting to prepare for a series of energy-summit

panel discussions looking at questions such as: Do we have enough energy in the state and what kind of emergency plan does Utah have in the event of an energy crisis?

Much of the focus of the recent power problem in the West has been on California. Power-grid managers there have been scrambling almost every day this month to find enough power to prevent rolling blackouts. Cold weather, decreasing imports and power plants that are not running on all cylinders have put unprecedented stress on California's electric supply.

The end result for Utahns is that power surpluses from California that had been available in previous winters will not be available this year.

"Like it or not, what happens in California affects all of the Northwest," said Bill Landels, executive vice president of PacifiCorp.

But for now, Utah is in good shape and residents should not worry about any blackouts, said Landels.

Some Utah companies, however, are feeling the pinch. G. Richard Judd, COO and general manager for the Utah Municipal Power Agency in Spanish Fork, said his organization reached a point last week where it couldn't buy power at any price from anywhere.

The whole system seems to be on the razor's edge, said state energy manager Jeff Burkes.

The key word, said Landels, is vigilance. Utahns need to watch their use of power. A more concerted effort to conserve energy and changing the behavior of consumers are important steps, he said.

The situation in California is dramatically pushing up rates. The price of electricity has gone up, yet customers are acting as if nothing is wrong, Landels said.

Judd said he is selling electricity to customers for close to a third of what it is costing him. And when he eventually gets the bill, someone will have to pay it, he said. The same is true for PacifiCorp, officials said.

The average power bill in Utah may go up anywhere from 15 percent to 25 percent, guessed Burkes.

The same is true for natural gas.

"There will be supply. The question is, at what price?" said Nick Rose, Questar Gas president and CEO.

Natural gas prices may be going up by as much as 10 percent, Burkes said.

Residents need to remember that the less energy they use now, the less power bills will increase, said Landels.

Conserving energy doesn't mean just turning your Christmas lights off early, Landels said. In fact, he said Christmas lights are a very small part of the problem. The best way for homeowners to conserve energy, he said, is to not use major appliances during the peak power hours of 4 to 8 p.m. Leave the washing machine, oven and dishwasher off until after 8 p.m.

Also, turn your heat down when you're not in the house or when you go to bed.

We're all going to have to learn to turn the lights off when we leave the house, said Leavitt.

Energy officials agreed the power crunch will not go away once winter is over. The problem could hang around for the next two or three years, Burkes said.

While Utah's population has continued to grow over the past 10 years, the state hasn't done anything to invest in new power supplies, he said. The balancing act the state plays between economic and environmental interests is partly to blame, he added.

That makes it difficult to move swiftly on new projects. If Utah wants to find new energy supplies, it needs to start now, Rose said.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 17, 2000