DeFazio criticizes deregulation at panel debate
■ Peter DeFazio, Philip
Romero and Randy Berggren
weighed in on the energy
crisis in a panel discussion
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Even if California’s energy dereg
ulation had been done perfectly, the
situation would still be the same,
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.,
said Monday night while participat
ing in a panel discussion at the Eu
gene Water and Electric Board.
More than 100 people from the
University and the Eugene commu
nity attended the panel discussion,
“Unplugged: California’s Energy
Deregulation and Its Impact on Ore
gon and Our Legislation,” spon
sored by the University Alumni As
sociation. Philip Romero, dean of
the Charles H. Lundquist School of
Calendar
Tuesday, May 15
Architecture and Allied Arts Faculty
Lecture: Brian Davies, Architecture,
presents “Behind the Sermon,” a
look at the evocative potential and
environmental impact of
materiality in designing interior
spaces. Also speaking is Jyoti
Hosagrahar, Architecture. 4 p.m.
Room 206, Lawrence Hall. Free.
For information, call 346-2077.
Kritikos Lecture: UCLA political
scientist James Q. Wilson, author
on the subjects of human nature,
ethics and morality and adviser
to four U.S. presidents, discusses
“Moral Intuitions” as the Oregon
Humanities Center’s 2000-2001
Kritikos Professor. He has been
influential in the areas of public
policy, crime prevention, urban
problems, conflict resolution and
the prevention of delinquency
among children. 5:45 p.m. Room
175, Knight Law Center. Free.
For information, call 346-3934.
Reception at 5 p.m.
International Film Series:
“Germinal” (France) is the tale of a
group of 18th-century coal miners
who decide to strike against the
repressive owner who calls in the
authorities to resist their organizing
attempt. This part of the “You Say
You Want a Revolution?” series
of films shown in their original
languages with English subtitles.
7-9 p.m. Keithan Lounge, Room 122,
Pacific Hail. Free. For information,
call 346-4011.
Business, and Randy Berggren, gen
eral manager of EWEB, also spoke
during the discussion.
DeFazio, who is a member of the
House Resources Committee in the
U.S. Congress and a critic of the Cali
fornia deregulation, said one aspect of
energy production that deregulation
has seriously affected is efficiency.
“If you were in a regulated utility
market, you have to provide 99 per
cent efficiency,” DeFazio said. “In a
deregulated market, you don’t have
to do that.”
He said the United States has had
a history of providing the reliable
and least expensive energy in the
world.
“So what was the problem we
were trying to fix?” he said.
DeFazio said that in 1999, Oregon
paid a total of $7 billion for its ener
gy. In 2000, the price rose to $27 bil
lion, and this year’s estimate is al
ready at $70 billion.
He said that if energy prices in
crease at the same rate in the future,
Oregon residents will be paying more
for energy than for their mortgages.
Romero, who served as California’s
chief economist during Pete Wilson’s
term as governor, said California
based its deregulation on theory. But
what happens in theory, he said, may
not always happen in reality.
“The notion was that if genera
tion was open to choice, and people
could choose their own suppliers,
prices would drop and service im
prove,” he said.
But, he said, this has not hap
pened. The original deregulation
plan should have allowed for a
price war, which would have
dropped the rates that customers
pay and helped California over
come the recession it had become
mired in during the early 1990s.
Romero said that in 1996 a modi
fied deregulation plan was passed
that imposed price caps on the retail
level, which is what customers pay
to the suppliers. However, he said, no
price cap was set at the wholesale lev
el, which made it tougher for energy
companies to make a profit.
“The critical stumbling block be
hind deregulation was that the com
pensation to power companies was
much less than what they were co
erced to pay,” he said. “Assets were
a lot less than what the companies
paid for them.”
Unlike DeFazio, who does not fa
vor deregulation, Romero said it
should work if done properly.
Berggren, who has been general
manager of EWEB since 1999, said
the price increase was something
that began in March 2000 but was
unforeseen. Prices skyrocketed and
are still climbing, he said.
“This kind of market just kept go
ing and going,” he said.
He said EWEB normally keeps $4
million in reserves for unpre
dictability in prices, and in past
years the reserve would be enough
to last an entire year. But now, he
said, the same amount of money
will last only one week.
“That’s a radical shift in the way
you think and in your approach,” he
said.
Berggren said the drought that Ore
gon is currently suffering and a short
age in the supply of energy have also
affected the price of energy.
The current rates for energy, he
said, are twice as much as Oregon
residents had been paying 12 to 18
months ago.
“I don’t believe we’ll ever see
rates that we were used to seeing
again,” he said. “I feel like I’m learn
ing this business all over again.”
Economics
continued from page 1
come, it should realize a bright fu
ture.”
Tachouet said one risk involving
electronic cash is the possibility of a
firm’s assets dropping below its lia
bilities. For example, he said an
electronic cash firm is not required
to hold deposits it takes in, so the
money is not always there.
“Say I have $2,000 of a firm’s e
cash,” he said. “They have a $2,000 li
ability to me, so they owe me $2,000. ”
In addition to other risks common to
all Web sites, such as software incom
patibility and Internet failure, Tachou
et said there is also a risk of fraud when
dealing with electronic cash.
“With e-cash, firms have access to
credit cards and checking account
numbers,” he said.
While technology offers several
new opportunities for consumers,
others think regular cash is still the
most popular way to make purchases.
Hank Hoell, executive vice presi
dent and chief operating officer of
LibertyBank, said he doubts tech
nology will create a “cashless,
checkless society” anytime soon.
He said the idea of replacing mon
ey with cashless technology was
first introduced in 1975 and was
predicted to happen well before the
millennium, but he said this has ob
viously not happened.
“There’s more cash and checks
today than there has ever been,” he
said. “ATM machines are every
where, so what does that say about
less cash?”
Hoell said the Internet and other
types of technology are designed for
ease of use and to make cash and
checks less popular. But, he said, he
expects the use of cash to remain
steady for at least several more
decades.
“If cash becomes less prevalent, I
think it will happen slowly,” he said.
Economics Professor Jo Anna Gray
said she is excited about today’s tech
nological economy and isn’t worried
about the future of paper money.
"I don’t think we’re becoming
cashless,” she said. “I think we’re
seeing cash transformed.”
The idea of cash should not be
Banking and the Internet
.nks:
\iBS) up from 55% a year ago
ring Internet banking services
to their continued success
at customers want internet
o their accounts
ti to accelerate the development of
i banking services within the n&xl year
Source:
limited to coins and dollar bills,
Gray said, but should instead in
clude anything that can be used for
transactions, including department
store gift cards and phone cards.
“It really has to do with what you
think of as cash,” she said. “Just one
meaning is too limited of a definition. ”
Gray said she uses her debit card
and online banking a great deal
more now that the opportunities ex
Sean Graf Emerald
ist, one reason being because she
doesn’t have to bother with writing
checks as frequently. However, she
said the technology can be intimi
dating for people to get used to.
“Even professionals with com
puters at home and work may face a
bit of a struggle in getting used to do
ing transactions online,” she said.
“But I think most people are finding
it much more convenient.”
Frohnmayer
continued from page 1
do,” he said.
Along with Frohnmayer, two
University students — freshmen
Jason Clark and Amaury Sarmien
to — were initiated into the house.
Clark, a business major, said tak
ing his vows with the University
president was an unforgettable ex
perience.
“It was a night to remember,” he
said.
Fellow initiate Sarmiento, an ed
ucation major, said he was glad
Frohnmayer decided to join the
house as well.
“He’s a great guy,” he said. “I
think him being greek now has
great significance on this campus
and around the country.”
Benton agreed, adding that
Frohnmayer’s decision to join the
fraternity is not just important to
the Delta Upsilon house, but also
to the Greek System as a whole.
“It was a great thing for Delta
Upsilon, and an awesome thing for
the greek community,” he said.
Upcoming Greek Week events
include the Smoker on Tuesday
and Anchor Splash on Wednesday.
The Smoker, a boxing tournament
to benefit the YMCA Big Broth
er/Big Sister program, will begin at
6 p.m. at McArthur Court. Anchor
Splash, in which Greek representa
tives will compete for the title of
Mr. and Ms. Anchor Splash to
raise money for Aid to the Blind,
will begin at 7 p.m. in the EMU
Ballroom.
HUlAlli i l i i
Let us know about it.
Call the ODE at (541) 34&55U.
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