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PacifiCorp
and dam removal
Removal
of four
Or maybe it could be, depending on the perspective. We’ve seen at
least one study that puts the worth of the annual economy of the
That’s $2.5 billion ... annually. Take that out a generation, or, say,
50 years: $125 billion. We don’t think the one-time costs of dam
removal, or the annual loss of the value of the energy they produce
could come close. Remotely.
Still, PacifiCorp is important to us. We appreciate the community
orientation of its local representative, and realize that the private
power company is vital to economic growth and to the long-term viability
of irrigated agriculture. We want them to come out well in this deal, so
here are some thoughts:
•
Since the agreement came out, PacifiCorp’s official public stance
seems to be an adversarial one. Its
PacifiCorp leadership should huddle up and come back to the line with a
spirit of collaboration. They could be leaders in this cause; they
don’t have to be detractors.
• When they talk about loss of green power, they should acknowledge
that there are more ways of looking at green than just whether
production creates carbon emissions. They should acknowledge costs to
the river system and fisheries. They should acknowledge the worth of the
Basin’s entire economy and think of themselves as a cog in the system,
not the whole system. They should realize that community members — the
customers they like to tout — are going to realize that.
• They should fess up to the idea that they’re not just worried
about ratepayers, but also about stockholders. There’s nothing evil
about that. That done, this could be a good deal.
The cost and benefits of relicensing the old dams versus working to
strengthen the Basin economy could bring them out ahead in a few
different ways — costs and units sold.
• They should continue talking about doing what is right for
their customers. We believe them. Given that predisposition, they should
be working through negotiations to gain some federal and state
considerations to keep them whole.
• PacifiCorp should immediately drop the idea that stakeholders,
through this agreement, have “put the cart before the horse,”
because that’s just silly. In a spirit of collaboration, a
fantastically diverse group of stakeholders got together and negotiated
a settlement ... you don’t think they needed to know what they wanted
to come up with before they could chart how to get there?
Actually, the cart analogy is sort of popular:
“We had to build the cart,” says Greg Addington, Klamath Water Users
Association executive director. “And it’s right where it needs to
be.”
“It’s a cart full of solutions,” says rancher Luther Horsley,
president of Klamath Drainage District.
• They should also drop the line that they were surprised by the
proposal that dams be removed. Negotiators say they think that’s a
disingenuous remark; it sure appears so. PacifiCorp, after all, primed
the negotiations with dam relicensing and stakeholders say that
they’ve kept the power company informed of developments all along.
• They should be mindful that this isn’t about just dam removal, or
just about power rates, or just about them. Besides the multitude of
other issues addressed in the agreement, it is also about the total
costs of dam relicensing ... which could go on forever.
“Collaboration works a lot quicker,” says Steve Kandra,
Klamath Water Users Association board member.
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Source: http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2008/05/11/
viewpoints/op-ed/doc48269c5be8604259054384.txt