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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1981)
Power bill’s rate promises continue to be unfulfilled Analysis By GREG WASSON Of ttM Emerald SALEM — In January, Gov. Vic Atiyeh submitted a budget requiring $220 million in addi tional tax revenues to balance. Tuesday morning, small busi ness leaders held a press con ference condemning the proposal. They charge the proposal’s cost will drive small business out of Oregon. The National Federation of Independent Bus inesses said it bitterly opposes the new taxes. It may prove to be a long, bloody fight. Contrast that with the ease with which Public Utility Com missioner John Lobdell de prived Oregonians of $104 mil lion. It .took no legislative debate, no arm twisting and no power brokering. Once the small business representatives finished their conference, Lobdell moved in and announced his order: one month from today, Portland General Electric will be allowed to raise its rates 10.8 percent, and Pacific Power & Light will boost its fees by 13.6 percent. The increases are con tingent upon the utilities agree ing not to seek additional hikes in 1981. Lobdell said he doesn’t know whether the companies will ac cept the deal. But if they do, it will have taken Lobdell 45 min utes to raise $104 million over the next nine months, while it will take the governor and the Legislature six months to ham mer out a tax program that, at the most, will raise $220 million over two years. As with the last Lobdell press conference, once the rate hikes were explained, the discussion turned to the Northwest power bill. Once again, the news was bad for Oregon rate-payers. During congressional debate, supporters of the bill lauded it as one answer to spiraling utility rates. The promise was that passage of the legislation would result in lower rates for Oregonians buying power from investor-owned utilities. At Tuesday’s press conference, Lobdell warned the promise may remain unfulfilled. “I have neither the calcula tions nor the data that I’m com fortable contains the right kinds of assumptions that will put me in a position where I can say that’s going to happen,’’ Lob deli said. r~ Campus Interfaith ° & Ministry CROSS CURRENTS Issues in Contemporary Medical Ethics NORM METZLER and ALICE’ KINBERG. KOINONIA CENTER. Four sessions beginning Thursday, April 9. Thursday, noon-1 p.m. 1414 Kincaid * These classes are free and open to all *For more information, or to register for classes, call 484-1707 or 686-3597 y Translation: Oregon con sumers may be forced to help pay for nuclear plants in Wa shington while denied the rate relief they were promised. In January, Lobdell revealed another pledge possibly was being broken. Oregonians were assured the fees collected from industries, mostly aluminum plants, con tracting directly with the Bon neville Power Administration would increase enough to help keep residential rates down. That may not be happening, Lobdell warned. He relayed rumors that the industries had convinced the BPA not to raise the rates as much as the public had been assured. “The direct service industries have brought all of their legal talent, lobbying talent and other sources of influence out of the woodwork," Lobdell said. "Dur Emerald Graphic 1_1 ing the void in the leadership of Bonneville, they may be overly influencing the staff.” In an April 1 press release, a PUC official acknowledged the rumors are now fact. "The rate formula favors the direct-service industrial cus tomers and large preference customers of Bonneville,” said Evan White, administrator of the PUC’s financial analysis divi sion, "and discriminates against lOUs’ (investor-owned utilities’) customers, such as those of PP&L and PGE." The increases don't reflect the costs of the Washington nu clear plants that the federal act allows the BPA to buy. It’s almost a given that Oregon consumers will help fin ance the first three Washington nuclear plants, but whether Bonneville will buy the fourth and fifth plants still is uncertain. r If you went to high school at: Aloha Ashland Banks Beaverton Central Central Linn Clackamas Columbia Cottage Grove Crater Crescent Valley Eagle Point Gladstone Gresham Hillsboro Klamath Union LaSalle Lebanon Union Madison Madras Marist Marshfield Mazama McMinnville McNary Medford Newberg North Eugene North Salem Oregon City Philomath Pleasant Hill Reynolds Rex Putnam Roseburg Sam Barlow Scio Seaside Silverton Union South Albany South Salem South Umpqua Sprague Springfield St. Helens Sunset Sweet Home Thurston Tigard Tillamook West Linn Willamette Willamina Wilson Stop by and visit with your previous high school counselor who will be available in the EMU Ballroom at 1:30 p.m., April 8. They would like to talk with you about your experience entering the U of O. The information they get from you will enable them to better prepare high school students for college. The UofO Admissions Office \_J HAIRCUTTING TO $8 00 2001 Franklin Blvd. 686-2544 15% Student Discount on phorofinishing and all merchandise nor already discounted. ^dots< otson's WE COMPLETE THE PICTURE 1668 Willamette • 430 East 11 rh • Volley River Center • Bend THEY’LL DO AS MUCH FOR YOUR GARDEN AS RAIN i ■ IW ao *-M9VS UMtoo&a VKpftp«fc Jw:»4 WMkoM 4 Sunset Introduction to Basic Gardening is the ultimate "how to" book. The one book that explains all the gardening techniques you want to know. only $5.95 Sunset New Western Garden Book is "The Authority" on Western gardening, a Western plant encyclopedia with 1200 plant identification drawings. only $11.95 BOOKSTORE 13th & Kincaid Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 Sat 10:00-2:00 Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510 • Supplies 686-4331
