12 加利福尼亚州对能源价格限制的反响
Californians React to Partial Caps on Energy Costs
Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
20 Jun 2001 00:30 UTC
Californians reacted with cautious 1)optimism to news that U.S. 2)regulators have agreed to a partial 3)ceiling on West Coast energy prices. The 4)federal plan was announced Monday, and will go into effect on Wednesday. The action may 5)undercut the drive for stronger federal 6)intervention.
In the face of continuing criticism from California Governor Gray Davis, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 7)imposed caps for electricity costs on the hour to hour spot market in eleven Western states. According to Commission Chairman Curt Hebert, the federal plan is based on market mechanisms, not on decisions by 8)bureaucrats. The plan links prices on the spot market to the cost of producing electricity in California. "The 9)commission is committed to helping move this country toward open competitive energy markets," he said. "At the same time, we recognize we must ensure that broken and 10)dysfunctional wholesale markets are fixed."
California Governor Gray Davis supports the plan, but says the federal commission has not gone far enough. "I'm pleased that the federal government is finally, some nine months after making the 11)determination that our market is dysfunctional, doing something in the right direction," he said.
The head of Southern California Edison, a major utility with more than $5 billion in debt, called the move in Washington a "meaningful step." But Edison chief executive John Bryson says he is unsure of the long-term 12)consequences of U.S. government plan, which will remain in effect for at least 15 months.
California's other large utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, has already filed for 13)bankruptcy. The Edison Company hopes to avoid that step, and is negotiating a 14)bailout plan with the California government. For the company official says the effects of another failure would be severe.
"Impacts on the Southern California economy of an Edison bankruptcy will be huge," said John Bryson. "They will greatly 15)destabilize an already challenging situation. They will present an image of the region that will cause businesses to be reluctant to locate or expand here. People will be for long periods of time be in doubt as to whether there will be a reliable wire system."
Among possible options for saving the failing utility, California officials are negotiating to buy Edison's 16)transmission lines, a move that would put the state in the energy business.
California's energy crisis was caused by a deregulation plan that freed the wholesale market while keeping caps on consumer rates as an 17)interim measure. Consumer activists say nothing short of re-regulating the market will get costs under control. Power companies say the deregulation plan that led to the shortage lacked 18)incentives for producers to build more generators, and government interference would worsen the problem.
California's two U.S. 19)senators had wanted caps on power prices based on the cost of production plus a reasonable profit. The soft cap in the current plan is linked to the cost of producing electricity for the least efficient producer. This is intended to reward more efficient generators, whose lower costs will lead to higher profits. California Senator Barbara Boxer called the federal commission's move a "stunning turnaround." And Senator Diane Feinstein, who was promoting 20)legislation for stronger federal price curbs, says she will adopt a "watch and wait" strategy.
Utility executive John Bryson says the regional plan for the West Coast energy market closed an important 21)loophole, so-called "megawatt laundering", which allowed California firms to ship power out of the state, only to ship it back again through out of state companies. That way they were able to bypass the state's own rigid price caps.
While he applauds the federal action, the utility official says he now looks to the California capital of Sacramento, not to Washington, for help in saving his failing company.
注释：
(1)optimism [5RptImIz(E)m]n.乐观, 乐观主义
(2)regulator[5re^jJleItE(r)] n.调整者
(3)ceiling [5si:lIN] n.最高限度
(4)federal [5fedEr(E)l] adj.联邦的
(5)undercut [QndE5kQt] vt.廉价出售
(6)intervention [IntE5venF(E)n] n.干涉
(7)impose [Im5pEJz] vt.征税, 强加
(8)bureaucrat [5bjJErEkrAt] n.官僚主义者
(9)commission [kE5mIF(E)n] n.委任, 委托
(10)dysfunctional [dIs5fQnkF(E)nrEl] n.机能不良, 功能紊乱
(11)determination [dIt:mI5neIF(E)n] n.决心, 果断
(12)consequence [5kRnsIkwEns; (?@) 5kRnsIkwens] n.结果
(13)bankruptcy [5bANkrQptsI] n.破产
(14)bailout [5beilaut] n. 紧急援助 adj.救援行动的
(15)destabilize [di:steIbIlaIz] vt.使动摇
(16)transmission [trAnz5mIF(E)n, trB:-] n.传送, 传输
(17)interim [`IntErIm] adj.中间的, 临时的, 间歇的
(18)incentive [In5sentIv] n.动机 adj.激励的
(19)senator [5senEtE(r)] n.参议员
(20)legislation [ledVIs5leIF(E)n] n.立法
(21)loophole [5lu:phEJl] n.漏洞，射击孔，窥视孔