Arizona Governor promises to fight if attempts made to take electricity

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Governor promises to fight if attempts made to take electricity

Associated Press Jan. 12, 2001 12:50:00

TUCSON - Gov. Jane Hull is promising to resist any potential attempts by the federal government to divert Arizona electricity to power-poor California.

High demand for power and California's ongoing supply problems have raised the specter the federal government may step in, Hull told guests at a Tucson luncheon Thursday.

With the entire western United States linked through one power grid, private providers could be ordered to shift power to California, especially as electricity use peaks this summer.

Hull said she won't stand for that. "We're not going to let bureaucrats in Washington take Arizona's power," she said.

Hull said she and other Western governors are monitoring the situation and coming up with a course of action, although it is unclear what authority they might have.

Scott Celley, a governor's aide, said Arizona Public Service Co., which serves Phoenix and other parts of the state, already is being asked to ship electricity west.

Meanwhile, customers in Santa Cruz and Mohave counties are facing higher rates from their provider, he said.

http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/articles/0112az--hull-powerON.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 12, 2001


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