California renewables push could drive up prices in Oregon

California's push to supersize its renewable energy standards could drive electricity rates higher for Northwest consumers, strain the West's transmission and hydroelectric systems, and create a host of thorny policy issues. The California Assembly passed a pair of bills Friday to create the nation's most aggressive renewable energy mandate. It would require utilities to meet one-third of customers' needs with green energy such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to veto the bills because they limit how much renewable power utilities can import from neighboring states, a limit he believes will restrict electricity supplies and drive up prices. Schwarzenegger hopes to issue an executive order this week establishing the 33 percent standard without any import limits. Either way, California's outsized energy demand, coupled with any enlarged renewables standard, would drive major new demand in the Northwest. "This is an important and sensitive issue for the entire West," said Elliot Mainzer, head of strategic planning at the Bonneville Power Administration...Oregonian