05.17.01

Cantwell Urges White House to Provide Immediate Relief for Americans Hardest Hit by Energy Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) today charged that the Bush Administration's new energy policy offers no relief for the millions of Americans who are being hit hardest by the current energy crisis. Cantwell called on the White House to act decisively and immediately to provide relief for consumers and businesses in Western states that are facing escalating energy prices.

Senator Maria Cantwell's statement (as prepared):

Yesterday morning, people in Washington state awoke to headlines in Seattle newspapers that read, "Northwest Winter Blackouts Feared." Today, the headlines say, "Bush Warns of Energy Crisis."

But here's the real news: the energy crisis is already here - and the Administration's new energy policy offers no relief for the millions of people who are being hit the hardest.

The energy crisis is raging through the West like a forest fire out of control - with rolling blackouts, escalating prices, failing businesses and lost jobs - but the White House is ignoring the flames.

I'm not suggesting that we sacrifice long-term planning for short-term action. We need a balanced energy plan for the future that is well funded and includes a variety of energy sources, but we also need a solution for the energy crisis today.

I, along with other Western Senators and state officials, have repeatedly called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to do its job and protect American consumers and businesses from unjust and unreasonable prices. So far, FERC commissioners have failed to act.

A megawatt that cost $27 in Washington state in April 2000, now costs more than $335. By comparison, the same megawatt cost $33 in more stable markets like Pennsylvania and Maryland. The rapid twelve-fold increase in Washington's wholesale electricity price is like watching the cost of a gallon of gasoline skyrocket from $1.70 to more than $20 in a single year.

To make matters worse, the Bonneville Power Administration, the core of the Northwest's cheap and reliable power supply, may be forced to raise rates by up to 200 percent this October--as a result of the agency's exposure to exorbitant wholesale market prices.

Washington state has already suffered many of the early casualties of this crisis, including business closures and retail rate increases in high double-digits. Layoffs in the West have already resulted in the loss of 20,000 jobs, with thousands more threatened if rates continue to climb.

Meanwhile, the energy crisis is being felt by families struggling to fill their gas tanks and pay their monthly bills, by small businesses trying to balance their books, by farmers operating their equipment. Even water and sewer bills will soon be affected by the cost of the electricity it takes to run the equipment.

The energy crisis is not just a California problem. It's not just a West Coast problem. If left unchecked, the economic and human hardships of this crisis will reverberate throughout the nation.

I have cosponsored Senator Bingaman's plan, which recognizes the need for new energy production and generation, saves consumers money, cuts pollutants that affect the health of every American, creates jobs, and reduces our reliance on foreign oil - keeping our economy strong and protecting our national security.

The White House is holding reasonable measures to enhance energy efficiency hostage to its shortsighted plan to drill in our nation's most environmentally sensitive areas, withholding funds unless we drill in ANWR. A truly comprehensive and responsible policy would make investments in renewable resources and smart technologies a top priority.

If the lights go out in the West, businesses that account for more than a third of the United States' gross domestic product will go dark - a shadow that will reach across the nation and around the world.

I stand ready to work with the Administration and my congressional colleagues.

We need a national energy policy that is comprehensive, and offers short-term relief as well as long-term planning. It must balance new production with energy efficiency through smart technology, and it must be well funded.

Energy programs without real dollars leave consumers with hollow solutions.