Gov. Jerry Brown is delaying a bid to link California’s largest electricity grid with one that operates in five other Western states, slowing a proposal that his administration favored as a way to shrink the costs of hitting his renewable energy mandate.
Brown sent letters on Monday to legislative leaders announcing that he wanted state agencies to take more time studying whether California’s Independent System Operator should link with the multistate grid managed by Oregon-based PacifiCorp.
Some advocates for the proposal had been urging lawmakers to approve the expansion before the end of the state’s legislative session this month. The ISO reaches about 80 percent of Californians through Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.
The plan met resistance from groups that feared California would inadvertently support PacifiCorp coal-fired plants by connecting with the company, as well as from public utilities who worried they’d be forced to pay higher fees to move power on transmission lines owned by the larger grid.
Source: The Sacramento Bee
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