City Light seeking additional 20 percent

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Seattle City Light customers could see their bills go up an additional 20 percent if City Council members approve the rate increase the utility is asking for tomorrow.

City Light officials say they will also propose conservation measures tomorrow that they hope will keep them from asking for yet another rate increase later.

The power crisis ultimately could cost the public more than the bailout of the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), which cost utility customers $2.2 billion, City Light spokesman Bob Royer said.

"This is far bigger in terms of money - far bigger than the collapse of WPPSS," said Royer. "We've got a market that's out of control, and it's being manipulated."

Royer wouldn't say exactly how much money the utility company needs, but the budget shortfall could be as much as $230 million.

The city-owned utility raised rates and added a 10 percent surcharge in the fall, hoping to generate enough money for the year.

But the cost of electricity continued to rise because of a power crunch in California and shortages in the Northwest, Royer said.

Making matters worse, the amount of water behind Northwest dams is very low, and the snowpack in the mountains is thin.

In fact, weather forecasters say last fall had the third-lowest rainfall since they began keeping records.

Next fall, the Bonneville Power Administration will increase its rates to customers such as City Light by up to 30 percent, depending on when they buy power. City Light buys 10 percent to 15 percent of its power from BPA.

BPA spokesman Ed Mosey said the federal agency has to raise rates cover the cost of buying power. Costs jumped from $30 a megawatt hour to $600 a megawatt hour.

"It's a tough market for us, too," Mosey said.

City Council President Margaret Pageler said the council, meeting at 2 p.m. tomorrow, will look at a range of conservation programs and energy cutbacks to keep the utility from asking for more money later.

"I am not going to approve another rate increase until we can reduce as much as possible," Pageler said. "There's no point for our citizens to line the pockets of others taking advantage of the situation."

Governors of Washington and Oregon have asked residents to reduce power use by 10 percent. The low-water year has put a crimp on the hydroelectric system's ability to generate power at a time when escalating demand and the deregulation of California's utilities have sent energy markets into a tailspin.

Washington, which sends power to California in the winter, is experiencing a dry season and California, which usually shares with Washington during the summer, was so hot and dry that it had none to spare then.