|
|
Doug Bechtel
|
|
Last time I talked about how MCI and Sprint are forcing AT&T to keep the long distance rates down and how competition at the wholesale power markets will keep the price of electricity down. I believe the same type of competition is coming to the distribution of electric energy - it is called “retail wheeling” and has been adopted in several states (most aggressively in California) while several other states are considering it. There has been a lot of talk about retail wheeling in Washington, but I haven’t seen the kind of push it will take to do anything about it soon.
When we look at the comparison with the telephone industry, you need to remember that the local telephone company (Interisland Telephone, now PTI0 provides all of the wires and facilities on each island. It is only for long distance service that you go to AT&T, MCI or Sprint (or our local long distance companies).
I believe we will find the same approach in the electric industry. Very few of our members will find it cost effective to install a distribution system and submarine cables to get to BPA’s transmission system. I believe that each customer (or more likely whoever is selling you power) will contract with OPALCO to use our facilities to deliver power to you. There are still many differences between the telephone company and OPALCO. For example, if the telephone company you have chosen has 17 long distance lines between your home and where you want to call and you are the 18th caller, you will get a busy signal. If the company you choose to buy power from is able to light 10,000 light bulbs and you are the 10,001st, what happens? There will have to be some way to ensure that we don’t deliver more power to customers of your power company than they deliver to us.
As a more practical matter, we will probably require each power company to have an agreement in place with BPA or some other company to make up any shortfall. On the other hand, your power company may offer you a lower rate if they can interrupt your power when they run short. Like long distance telephone companies, there will be many different electric products and services available to our members and OPALCO will offer equivalent packages or programs to keep you as a customer.
If you will recall, a couple of years ago I did an OPALCOGRAM about one of our members who wanted to buy “salmon free power”. In the future, we will be able to offer power made in an environmentally-sound manner (although it might be more expensive). You may also be able to buy power that is not made with nuclear energy or not made by burning coal. Retail wheeling, alternative wholesale suppliers, local generation from fuel cells or other sources will all have a major impact on OPALCO. It is decisions on these and other issues that will shape the OPALCO of the future. Our job is to get OPALCO ready for the future and not let it happen to us.
Doug Bechtel
|