With power in short supply throughout the West, state regulators should adopt time-of-use electricity rates that send consumers appropriate price signals, nine western governors recommend in a white paper released Tuesday.
The recommendation is one of several emergency proposals to avert electricity shortages and mitigate high prices this winter and next summer. They will be taken up during a Feb. 2 meeting of the Western Governors Association energy policy roundtable in Portland, Ore.
The governors said recent, unprecedented problems with prices and reliability of energy supplies require coordinated solutions to increase investment in new energy supplies, energy transportation infrastructure, and energy efficiency.
However, the conservation heavy proposal does not mention imposing a regionwide electricity price cap�an idea backed in California and some members of the outgoing Clinton Administration.
Following a December energy policy meeting in Colorado, electricity and natural gas prices reached unprecedented levels in the West, resulting in power shortages, emergency calls for conservation, and record energy prices for consumers in several states.
"The roundtable will focus not only on steps needed to address the immediate crisis, but also on developing an action plan to increase the long-term supply and availability of electricity that will help maintain a robust economy for the growing West," said Idaho Gov. Dire Kempthorne.
Governors participating in the short-term energy conservation strategy released a document with four components:
� Conduct a media campaign to inform the public about the severity of the problem and the need to conserve power.
� Give homeowners, businesses, and public agencies detailed recommendations for reducing energy use in times of shortages.
� In states with immediate shortages, encourage utilities to expand voluntary programs for electricity users to reduce nonessential consumption of electricity.
� Encourage public agencies across the Western states, including local governments and school districts, to conserve energy.
