Tougher energy-efficiency standards proposed to avoid blackouts
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau Chief
HARRISBURG -- In an effort to avoid crippling blackouts in the future, a Beaver County legislator wants to see tougher energy-efficiency standards for air conditioners and "smart" electric meters that can reward consumers financially for not using electricity during peak demand times.
State Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, said yesterday that when the Legislature reconvenes next month, he'll introduce legislation based on recommendations by utility expert John Hanger, a former state Public Utility Commission member and now leader of the Penn Future citizens group.
Veon and Hanger told a state Capitol news conference that while "occasional blackouts are a fact of life," they want to make sure the power transmission grid in Pennsylvania is able to withstand -- or avoid -- catastrophes such as the one Aug. 14, when problems in a transmission grid in Ohio apparently cascaded to other regions, leaving 50 million people in the dark in the U.S. and Canada for a day or more.
Hanger proposed "five smart solutions and five wrong answers" for electrical transmission grids in Pennsylvania and other states. One step that's urgently needed is tougher energy-efficiency standards for air conditioners, he said.
"Air conditioning creates peak summer demands and is the usage that stresses the grid most," Hanger said. "Pennsylvania and the nation should adopt stringent air conditioning energy-efficiency standards, as well as increased appliance efficiency standards."
He also called for action on tighter standards on the federal level, saying that without them, "it will lead to more and more frequent blackouts."
Veon said his legislation may require that the state PUC take steps toward more efficient air conditioners. Asked if that could increase the cost of the units and thus spur customer resistance, Veon said the price of a unit might go up, but added, "What about the cost of the blackout? There have been tremendous costs from that -- an increase in the cost of gasoline and from lost productivity."
Hanger also said that a new type of "smart" electrical meter is being developed, one that can track whether consumers have turned their air conditioners down or turned them off entirely during peak demand of a hot summer.
He said consumers who agree in advance of a peak demand time to turn up their thermostats, or to turn off their air conditioners entirely, can be rewarded with cash from their utility company. The new "smart" meters are able to register how much energy a consumer saved by turning his indoor thermostat from 72 degrees to, say, 80 degrees, or by turning off his air conditioner, thus easing the electricity demand and helping avert a blackout. A consumer would be paid based on the amount of power he saved.
He urged the PUC to begin phasing in, over a 10-year period, this new type of meter for both residential and business use.
Veon said he was also interested in this suggestion and may prod the PUC to take action. He also likes Hanger's idea to require the PUC to publicize the amount of money utility companies spend on repairs and upgrades to their transmission grid. Such reports aren't currently required.
Veon has long had an interest in utility issues and was one of the General Assembly's leaders in pushing for deregulation of electric power in Pennsylvania in 1996, giving consumers a chance to choose their power provider. He said he's convinced the Aug. 14 blackout was not a result of the state's decision to deregulate, as some critics have claimed, and said he'll fight any effort to change deregulation.
Veon said electric rates in Beaver County have dropped 20 percent to 40 percent since 1996, and are now at 1981 levels, something that can't be said for most other household costs or for gasoline prices.
Hanger also listed several "wrong" steps, which government or utility companies should avoid doing in regard to blackouts. Huge new investments of money in transmission grid construction -- as much as $100 billion -- is not a good way to spend money, he said.
"Hyperbolic statements such as 'America has a Third World grid' have been voiced in support of these expenditures," Hanger said. "America does not have a Third World grid. The electric system is highly reliable, though not perfect."
Hanger also said he's also strongly opposed to building "more large, traditional power plants" as a way to avoid blackouts.
"Nationally, most regions of the country have an electricity generation surplus," he said, adding there is no indication that the Aug. 14 blackout was caused by having too little electricity produced.
He also opposed any efforts to disconnect the transmission grid of one state from the grids of other states, in order to avoid future outages from cascading from one state to another.
"The interconnected nature of the grid helps increase reliability (of the transmission system) by allowing areas with surplus power to send power to areas with scarcity," he said. "Most areas benefit at some point from the ability to import power."
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Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.
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