April 2003

The Grange comes to the Northwest
Part two: The history of Public Power in the Northwest

While Northwest farmers were concerned with water transportation monopolies during the latter half of the 19th century, nationally the issue was high railroad rates. The national Grange of Patrons of Husbandry, an organization concerned with improving the conditions of the nation’s farm families, took up the cause. The Grange was organized in Washington, D.C. in 1867, and by 1872 the first local Grange was formed in Oregon. Seventeen years later, the Washington State Grange was established in Camas. The threat of losing waterways to the same kinds of monopolies that controlled the railways was an overriding issue for the Northwest Grange organizations.
     The Granges, the progressive philosophy and the practical need to use the region’s water-ways for transportation combined to make public use of river resources an important issue. Thus, when electricity came to the region, the pieces were in place for the struggle for public power.
     The first public power system in the Northwest was established in McMinnville in 1889. McMinnville Water and Light was formed, as later municipal utilities would be, primarily to provide drinking water to its citizens. Pumping systems were developed to pump water from local rivers and streams and electricity was needed to run the pumps. Additional power was then made available to light street lamps and homes. (Part III: “Lighting the Cities”)

Source: Public Power Chronicle, Public Power Council 2002

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Annual Meeting

The Salem Electric Annual Membership Meeting will be held at 7 pm on May 13, 2003 at our office, 633 Seventh Street NW. This is a great opportunity to get an update on Salem Electric and meet your board of directors. Three Salem Electric staff members will also be giving presentations on their duties at Salem Electric. Hope to see you there.

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Curious About Your Heating System?
Click here and then click "Your Guide to Home Heating"

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FERC Continues Efforts to
Restructure Electricity Markets 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) continues to pursue restructuring of retail electricity markets, despite pressure to slow down from utility regulators, citizen groups, and members of Congress in southern, southwestern and northwestern states. FERC’s restructuring plan, called Standard Market Design (SMD), is supposed to create competition among power producers and lower electric rates for consumers. In the Northwest and other low-cost power regions, these plans would increase the cost of electric service for consumers.
Currently, most Northwest public power utilities enter into long-term contracts for power supply and transmission services with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). BPA charges its utility customers “cost-based rates” for these services, or just what it costs to produce and take delivery of the power off the region’s transmission system—80 percent of which is owned by BPA. Long-term contracts and cost-based rates help provide some level of predictability in electric rates for our customers.
     FERC is proposing that utilities purchase all their electricity on the open market, where prices for power fluctuate dramatically. FERC also wants BPA to turn over its transmission system to a new costly bureaucracy called Regional Transmission Organization West to monitor these transactions, including power pricing, scheduling and delivery. As a result, most electric utilities would have to move from a cost-based, regulated system to a market approach as designed under SMD.
     Consumer-owned utilities in the Northwest have joined forces with over 140 organizations to fight the FERC proposal. This coalition of utilities, businesses, labor unions, cities, counties, chambers of commerce, consumer groups, and agriculture organizations is known as Northwest Power Works ( www.nwpowerworks.org ).
     The coalition says that the costs and risks of restructuring are simply too great for Northwest consumers who are still paying for the West Coast power market experiment of 2000-2001. Members of Northwest Power Works believe that SMD is not needed in this part of the country and would diminish regional control over the power system. They also think that FERC is moving too fast.
     Utility regulators in 18 states also have banded together, forming the Alliance of State Leaders Protecting Electricity Consumers ( www.protectpowerconsumers.org ). The Alliance warns that FERC’s proposal will cause electricity rates to increase, and will interfere with state and local utility oversight.
     In response to such concerns, key U.S. senators have sought to clamp down on FERC’s restructuring push. FERC Chair Pat Wood has said he would slow down the process somewhat, but he continues to say that restructuring is needed and will go forward. Opponents of SMD promise to continue reminding FERC that their electricity systems work well for consumers. The 108th Congress undoubtedly will take a closer look at SMD and FERC’s response to regional concerns, so stay tuned.

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Safety First:  Call Before You Dig

Are you planning to dig in your yard? Underground wires or pipes might be buried there. In 1987 the State of Oregon enacted HB2051. This law requires any excavator to notify owners of all underground utilities a minimum of 48 hours (2 working days) before digging begins. Contact with electric wires or natural gas pipes can be extremely dangerous.
     In addition, damage to TV cables, phone lines or water pipes can be very expensive to repair. Remember, one call notifies all Salem and Keizer utilities. Before you dig, call
1-800-332-2344 to request a free underground locate.

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Energy Star & Computer Monitors

There are many computer monitors in the U.S. that aren’t getting enough sleep.
     Computer operators are leaving their computers on day and night, even when they’re not being used. This results in millions of wasted kWhs. There is an option. By using free software tools provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), individuals and organizations can activate monitor power manage-ment features and save energy and money.
     The EPA estimates that 45% of the nation’s computers are not enabled for monitor power management, costing an estimated $900 million annually in wasted energy in offices alone. Power Management allows computer monitors to enter a low-power “sleep” mode after a specified period of inactivity, saving on average, $20 annually in energy costs per computer. Sleeping monitors “awaken” in seconds when the keyboard is touched or the mouse is moved.
     The software will not affect computer or network performance. By activating this free software in offices throughout the nation, enough energy would be saved to power over one million households annually.
     To find out how you can activate Power Management, visit www.energystar.gov/
powermanagement.

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