To cover nuclear costs
Weaver predicts electric rate hike
By GREG WASSON
Of the Emerald
Salem — Fouth district rep
resentative Jim Weaver brought
alarming news to the Oregon
House Tuesday: Northwest elec
tric rates can be expected to in
crease 150-200 percent soon.
According to Weaver, the jump
is the direct result of nuclear con
struction. He pointed to five nuc
lear plants being built in Washing
ton.
"The five plants have escalated
in price by as much as 300 per
cent. Officials now project that
these plants will cost 10.4 billion.”
Weaver, who heads the Water
and Power Subcommittee of the
House Interior Committee,
charged that the plants are being
under-written by the Bonneville
Power Adminstration (BPA).
“In other words, the rate-payers
being served by the Bonneville
System are paying for those
plants.”
Weaver then compared the
debt caused by the construction to
the existing national debt.
“The horrendous, staggering
national debt we all fear so much
is equaled in the Northwest on a
per capita basis by the debts
being incurred to pay for these
plants. And this decision was
made by a handful of people with
out any public input of any kind.”
Weaver hit repeatedly on the
lack of public input in present pol
icy.
"Today we have a few federal
officials and a handful of utility ex
ecutives making our energy policy
for us.”
Weaver said instituting rates
that would make those who use
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more, pay more would demo
cratize energy policy.
“What we are doing now in the
utilities is unsound business. It’s
making decisions without allowing
the people to vote with their dol
lars.”
Presently, BPA rates are set by
melding inexpensive hydroelec
tric power with the more expen
sive nuclear. According to
Weaver, ‘ this sends false signals
to the people.”
Weaver said that people in the
Northwest use electricity at three
times the national average.
Weaver also touched on a bill to
create public financing of Con
gressional campaigns.
“The proliferation of the TAC,
the political action committee, will
pour countless millions of dollars
of special interest money into our
campaign. We must limit the
spending and halt this rapid on
slaught on our free election sys
tem.”
Weaver said public financing is
the only way to keep elections
honest.
“The bill is HR 1, to give you an
idea of the emphasis the leader
ship has on it.”
Jim Weaver
Photo by Suzanne Aigen
Lobbyists
(Continued from Page 9A)
has introduced legislation (SB
403) to reduce the number of Port
land members on the Wildlife
Commission, and terminate all
current appointments at the end of
this year. Environmental groups
are not happy with the idea.
The commission has made
many recommendations regard
ing wildlife habitat, land-use plan
ning, Board of Forestry regula
tions and RARE II that conser
vationists support, although the
board has no legal authority.
“This is an attempt to gut the
commission,” says Jim Stratton,
University Survival Center direc
tor. “It’s a blatant attack. The
commission is doing a good job,
and now they want to restrict its
management to state-owned
lands, and let Vic (Gov. Atiyeh)
appoint all seven next Jan. 1.”
The Senate Agriculture and
Natural Resources Committee will
IT
address the bill Friday at 8 a.m. in
Hearing Room A in the Capitol.
The OEC is watching progress
on a bill authorizing state purch
ase of Yaquina Head. Introduced
simultaneously by Sen. Dell
Isham, D-Lincoln City, as SB 420,
and by Rep. Max Rijken,
D-Newport, as HB 2346, the legis
lation would appropriate funds for
an assessment of the property.
Local residents prompted the
action to save the promontory
further harm from gravel mining.
The bill had its first hearing Mon
day and is proceeding unham
pered over the legislative hurdles.
Another bill that seems to have
a bright future is SB 299, which
would include a provision for solar
easement rights within the land
use planning and zoning process.
“It's moving pretty well,” Buel
says. It received a favorable
hearing before the Senate Local
Government Committee and
came out with a do-pass recom
mendation. It has now been refer
red to the Senate Environment
and Energy Committee.”
Buel says the OEC intends to
watch legislation coming out of the
Trade and Economic Commit
tees. “They manage to put
ecomonics over anything else."
Environmental groups are
perhaps more than usually wary of
this legislative session, if only be
cause of the unequal pace of bus
iness.
“We have to watch almost ev
erything,” Buel says. “A lot of
things have come up all of a sud
den that we have to keep a close
eye on.”
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10:00-3:00
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UO
BOOKSTORE
13th & Kincaid 686-4331
Open: Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 Sat 10:00-2:00
Meet Texas Instruments Representative
Gail Casper
Thinking of buying a calculator? Do you own a Texas
Instrument calculator and need assistance? Come in for
an informal demonstration and ask questions.