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BY JOSH FEIT
jfeit@wweek.com
If you don't understand the Enron-PGE merger, now is your chance to ask some questions. The Public Utilities Commission is holding a public meeting April 10 to discuss the first major outcome of the merger: PGE's "direct access" plan, which gives consumers access to the power provider of their choice. Energy giant Enron bought PGE last year for $3.2 billion as part of its strategy to dominate the soon-to-be deregulated energy market. Under the direct access proposal, PGE--now a subsidiary of Enron--would get out of the power-generation business by selling off its hydro dams, coal and natural gas resources and stripping down to its poles and wires. The plan transforms PGE into the delivery system that competing energy brokers must use (and pay for) to deliver power to customers. It's unclear if this is good news for Oregonians. Taking PGE's power-generation capabilities out of the mix has, in fact, raised some red flags at the Public Utilities Commission. The PUC has put a proposal of its own on the table. Known as a "portfolio approach," this plan would force PGE to stay in the power business as one of the choices customers would have when shopping for an energy provider. (Everyone from the Associated Oregon Industries to PacifiCorp to the Citizens' Utility Board has proposed versions of the portfolio approach.) Both PGE's plan and the PUC plan will be set out for scrutiny at Friday's meeting (10 am, Portland State University, Smith Memorial Center, room 327, 1825 SW Broadway). |
