California market shouldn't hurt Wyo consumers, Freudenthal says
DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Star-Tribune energy reporter | Posted: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 12:00 am
SAN DIEGO - The cost savings to California customers for shipping Cowboy State electrons via the proposed Frontier Line is an estimated $1.4 million annually, according to the California Energy Commission.
That's attractive for California, but the discussions so far haven't focused on the effect the power line project might have for electrical consumers in Wyoming.
As energy dignitaries broker power generation and electrical transmission deals aimed and pumping power to California, officials in Wyoming want to make sure Cowboy State consumers don't get saddled with higher utility bills.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal said a group is working with the Wyoming Public Service Commission to make sure that Wyoming residents don't end up paying for any electrical generation project aimed at customers outside the state.
"We need to be careful that that power is recognized as export power, and the costs associated with it are passed to those out-of-state customers," Freudenthal said in a phone interview from Cheyenne on Tuesday.
Freudenthal was in Southern California on Monday speaking with stakeholders in the Frontier Line project - a $6 billion power line that would connect advanced coal and renewable wind generation from Wyoming and other Rocky Mountain states to California.
Similar efforts in recent years to expand the export of Wyoming natural gas to high-demand Western and Eastern markets have pushed natural gas prices upward for Wyoming customers. Having more connections for Wyoming gas producers means customers in the state must now compete on the national market, where many customers are willing to pay higher prices in order to compete for a reliable source of gas.
Freudenthal said boosting Wyoming electrical exports should not have the same effect, because electrical generation built specifically for export would not compete with those utilities regulated under the Wyoming Public Service Commission.
For example, if Californians insist on having electricity generated from coal-based integrated gasification technology, or IGCC, even though it might cost a little more, California customers ought to be willing to pay that higher price.
"Clearly, we're sensitive to the fact that if California wants to pay the cost for combined cycle power, that's fine with me as long as they're willing to pay for it," Freudenthal said.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer he shares the same concerns for Montana consumers as he promotes the state as a major electrical exporter of the future.
"We don't want to be thrown to the wolves," Schweitzer said.
Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 682-3388 or dustin.bleizeffer@casperstartribune.net.