• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

POWER DEBATE: State Energy Plan Urged: Sen. Patterson Sets Up Group to Weigh Options

Posted on: Saturday, 18 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, Detroit Free Press

Mar. 18--State Sen. Bruce Patterson has been on a mission to make sense out of rising energy prices for the past five years.

The Canton Republican, who chairs the legislative Energy and Technology Committee in Lansing, is a lightning rod for debate on energy issues in Michigan. Over the years, he has sparred with a number of groups over electric competition and the role of state utility regulators.

Now, the outspoken lawyer and former Wayne County Commissioner has organized a bipartisan work group to define a long-range energy plan involving power generation, transportation fuels and renewable energy sources.

Specifically, the group must come up with a framework by early April for a long-term energy plan that will become the working model for the Energy and Technology Committee and the rest of the state Legislature to act on. Patterson, who held his first meeting on Feb. 22, asked the group to finish its work in 40 days. The key topics to be discussed at meetings that take place on Thursdays in Lansing include:

* Adopting Renewable Portfolio Standards that would require a minimum amount of alternative energy sources to be part of the state's power generation portfolio.

* Establishing incentives to encourage private investment.

* Determining the role of conservation in Michigan's energy portfolio.

* Providing for a competitive bidding process to build future electric generation capacity.

For Patterson, it's important to find solutions that are applicable to Michigan's current and future energy environment.

"Media love to report on the silver bullet solutions like ethanol or hydrogen," Patterson said. "What they are missing is that there is no single solution. We need various forms of energy, because they are all going to play a role."

The group consists of 23 people representing various interests. It includes officials from Michigan's major utilities, environmentalists, a former Michigan Public Service Commissioner and the head of NextEnergy Inc., a Detroit-based nonprofit alternative energy think tank.

The work group, which started meeting weekly in late February, is expected to draft a final report the week of April 3.

"Smart energy policies will be a boon for Michigan's economy and its consumers and the environment," said Jason Barbose, a spokesman with the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan, an Ann Arbor environmental group. "That's why we are advocating for smart energy policies here in the state. The first smart step begins with a concerted investment in energy policies."

Michigan residents saw their heating bills jump as much as 50% this winter, compared with a year ago. Gas prices, meanwhile, are averaging nearly $2.50 a gallon this week and are expected to flirt with the $3-a-gallon range this summer.

Nationally, President George W. Bush has declared that America must break its addiction to foreign oil by the year 2025. At the same time, states like Michigan are continuing to use more petroleum-based energy every year.

"I believe we're at a critical stage in terms of our need to increase capacity for the long term," said Robert Nelson, a former commissioner with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), current lobbyist with the Customer Choice Coalition and a member of the work group.

Among the issues Nelson and the other members are discussing is the mounting power generation issue in Michigan.

In January, the MPSC issued a report detailing the state's electric generation needs for the future. The Capacity Needs Forum report was an outline of policy options the state leaders might consider when addressing Michigan's energy crisis.

The authors of the study pointed out that Michigan imports most of its energy at a rate of more than $20 billion a year. In addition, the report recommended that Michigan consider building at least one more coal-fired power plant to address growing demand by 2012.

"Michigan has always been known as a state that produces things for others to consume," said Patterson. "That is slowly changing as the nation's energy crisis is showing new vulnerabilities for the Michigan economy. Our energy portfolio is not diversified and we are therefore dependent on others."

As the work group and the committee complete their work, the public can make comments or suggestions by contacting Patterson via e-mail at SenBPatterson@senate.michigan.gov

Contact ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA at 313-222-5008 or abodipo@freepress.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Detroit Free Press

More News in this Category