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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2001)
^ Is this 2 a good ££ day to ^ make a h decision? h 3 <find out in the ODE Classifieds, (/) x Summer 2001 DAN 251 Looking at Dance 4 Credits in the A&L Group • See and Discuss Great Works of Dance Art •Take Field Trips and Movement Laboratories Learning like you’ve never experienced before! NO PREREQUISITES | NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY THE CALENDARS ARE IN! At A Glance & Time:Master ACADEMIC CALENDARS are now in stock in Art & School Supplies! UNIVERSITY of OREGON BOOKSTORE BIRKENSTOCK Summer Tour 2001 June 29 - July 1 A BIRKENSTOCK truck loaded with over 2000 pairs of sandals, clogs and shoes is coming to Eugene. Save Up to 80% On Selected Styles! Sale Hours: June 29, Fri 9 - 8 * June 30, Sat 9 - 6 July 1, Sun 11 -5 Special Location: 881 Willamette St Eugene, OR (Formerly Timeless Antiques) Sorry, we will not be able to hold, layaway, special order or take returns on Summer Tour 2001 shoes Look for the Truck! footwse THE BIRKENSTOCK STORE 181 E Broadway Downtown Eugene 342-6107 ©2001 Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, Inc. AM Rights Reserved. Energy settlement talks begin By Mark Sherman The Associated Press WASHINGTON—Efforts to settle claims from the California power cri sis got under way Mdnday, as West ern states accused power-generating companies of overcharging them by $15 billion in the past year. Michael Kahn, California’s chief negotiator, said the $9 billion in re funds his state claims it is owed should be the first order of business for Curtis L. Wagner, the Federal En ergy Regulatory Commission’s chief administrative law judge, who is serving as mediator for the talks. “We want our refunds. We want them now,” said Kahn, chairman of the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid. Other Western states, mainly in the Pacific Northwest, said over charges to them amount to $6 billion. The states claim that the compa nies unfairly drove up prices to take advantage of a power shortage. Prices frequently surpassed $300 per megawatt-hour, ten times what they were in 1999. One megawatt is enough to power about 750 homes. The power companies argue that the charges were justified. In some cases, older, more costly power plants were pressed into service to deal with the high demand and tight supply. Wagner, who has said that refunds in any settlement probably would not exceed $2.5 billion, urged all sides to be conciliatory. He said a brokered set tlement should be preferable to a plan crafted by federal regulators. He said he was not discouraged by the states’ hard line in the early go ing. “Everybody has to stick to their guns for a while,” Wagner said after the first day of talks. More than 150 people represent ing about six dozen entities gathered in a government hearing room for ne gotiations. The talks were part of a federal order last week extending price controls on spot power sales in California and imposing limits in 10 other Western states. Wagner laid out several issues ne gotiators will have to tackle, includ ing how much generators are owed for power they supplied to Califor nia without getting paid. The size of the refunds and the unpaid bills “must be, both ways, re solved at the outset to put everyone on the same playing field,” Wagner said. Any settlement probably would also have to answer whether the generators should have immu nity from existing and future law suits, as well as prosecution, he said. Reporters sat in on Wagner’s open ing statement and a marathon intro duction in which some 150 people stat ed their names and their employers. “If we had known there would be so many people here, we would have sold tickets,” Wagner said. The attendees included represen tatives from California and a dozen city and county governments, in vestor-owned and municipal utili ties, power generators and natural gas companies. After the introductions, Wagner closed the meefing to the public, or dering the participants not to talk to reporters during the negotiations. He even pledged to shred his copy of the notes that a court reporter will tran scribe each day. FERC mandated that the talks last no more than 15 days. Wagner can re quest more time if he feels progress is being made. The University of Oregon' OREGON BACH FESTIVAL “A Musical Enterprise Virtually Without Equal in America” - Los Ant'clcs Times What Rilling does in the Oreg< Bach Festival is astonishing” Washington I’os “Its Art is Ambitious and Performances Suave” — Wall Street Journa Peter & the Wolf Classic fun for families All tix $5 July 4, Hult Center Sponsored by Widish Land Co Brahms/German Requiem Masterpiece of hope, solace, and redemption UO Students $10 July 5, Hull Center Sponsored by Centermiql Bank and KVAL TV Verdi/Requiem Thunderous drama by the Italian opera master UO Students $10 July 8, Halt Center Sponsored by United Airlines 682-5000 oregonbachfestival.com
