Utility warns of crisis for Iowa

Alliant says cutoffs show need to build plants soon By S.P. DINNEN and COLLEEN KRANTZ

Register Staff Writer 05/16/2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three days of power disruptions have given Iowans a taste of what Alliant Energy Inc. says could be a dark future without eased regulations to speed construction of electric generating plants.

Iowa is "on the path to an energy crisis" without the addition of new generating and transmitting capabilities, Alliant spokesman John Ruff said Tuesday.

Unable to meet demand as temperatures soared, the Cedar Rapids utility again cut power to dozens of Iowa customers who have "interruptible" power contracts, darkening factories and emptying schools. The utility said there was a "high possibility" of more cutoffs today.

"It sure disrupts everything, especially as we are winding down the school year," said Mick Starcevich, superintendent of College Community schools in the Cedar Rapids area. "The finals at the high schools are coming up next week, so it does create little problems there."

The Anamosa, Linn-Mar and Marion school districts also were affected, each releasing students from some or all buildings about 10 a.m.

Kinze Manufacturing, a Williamsburg maker of agricultural equipment, was shut down for most of Monday and Tuesday.

"Our employees are frustrated, and we're frustrated," said Ned Miller, Kinze's human resources manager. "We're losing production, and they're losing hours of work."

At least one Alliant generating plant remained idled for maintenance Tuesday, and a nuclear plant near Palo was out of commission while being refueled.

Officials at Alliant's Cedar Rapids headquarters expect their facilities to be operating fully by next week, but they were bracing for possible problems today. Alliant has cut off "interruptible" customers three times since Thursday. Last year, the utility resorted to the power-saving step once.

Alliant says on its Web site that it is doing all it can to prevent California-like power outages in Iowa. The utility, which serves 461,000 customers, has said for several years that it wants to build a 1,200-megawatt plant. However, the utility also wants state lawmakers to ease rules that govern site selection for power plants, a topic that was hotly debated but failed to win approval in the recently ended legislative session.

Legislators will convene next month for a special session, and the power-plant bill may come up, Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson said Tuesday.

"We've been saying we're going to run short, and look at what actually happened," said Iverson, a Dows Republican.

The power shortage, coupled with California's energy problems, could prompt some opponents to rethink their positions on the bill, Iverson said. He said the bill stood a 50-50 chance of being reconsidered during the special session.

"If we can round up the votes to get it passed, I'll bring it up" in special session, Iverson said.

Gov. Tom Vilsack agreed Tuesday that Iowa needed more power plants, but he urged a balance between utility incentives and consumer concerns. He said the state should increase base production rather than provide incentives for utility companies to deal with peak-power production.

Supporters say Iowa needs to remove barriers to building plants because of the state's growing appetite for electricity. Critics say the plan is flawed and will allow utilities to profit excessively at the expense of consumers.

"Both parties have to move off their positions," Vilsack said. "The Legislature is paralyzed by the politics of this."

Lee Clancey, mayor of Cedar Rapids and co-leader of the Governor's Energy Task Force, said that if anything positive comes from Alliant's problems, it's the attention that they have brought to the state's power needs.

"We must find some solutions that will work for the long term, and we've been dragging our feet," Clancey said.

State regulators and utility experts believe that by 2003, Iowans will demand more energy than their power plants can produce. The problem is most acute for Alliant; Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy produces enough electricity for its own needs and still can sell to wholesale customers.

David Hurd, the energy task force's other co-leader, said the group expected to recommend a plan of action by October. It will look at efficiency measures, increased emphasis on renewable sources of energy such as wind power, and adding both generating and transmission capacity.

Alliant's Ruff said neither conservation nor construction alone would solve energy deficit problems. He said Alliant needed to add a power plant and might build it in Illinois if Iowa denies permission for it. Iowa's neighbor has streamlined its siting process, cutting two years off the timetable.

"I think everyone agrees that this needs to be addressed in some manner," said Allan Thoms, chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board. He noted that the last power plant built in Iowa is now 18 years old, and that as plants age they're subject to more breakdowns.

Staff writer Jennifer Dukes Lee contributed to this report.

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c5903220/14699864.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 16, 2001

Answers

So, the long reach of California's energy problems has spread eastward 2,000 miles, eh? I wonder what other states will be affected.

-- Loner (loner@bigfoot.com), May 17, 2001.