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Enron Mail |
A story from the Associated Press on Gov. Davis' announcement that he will
reveal the details of 38 power contracts is included below. ? Some information I received that is not in the story: ? The sequence of events appears to be that the governor will announce tomorrow how he will reveal the contract details.? This announcement may be in conjunction with an?attempt in a San Diego court?to invalidate the confidentiality agreements within the contracts.? The court hearing is part of the lawsuit by newspapers and Republicans to make the contracts public. ? Davis has reportedly speculated that the actual details will be released near the end of the week.? Some information apparently will be removed from, or blacked out in, documents that are issued. ? One impetus could be that the details of some of the contracts have apparently been leaked by various sources.? One reporter told me he understood that FERC had given some congressional Republicans details on the contracts.? The one name was given to me as a recipient of the details was Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana. ? Davis had also promised to make the contract details available within 6 months of when they were first signed, a deadline that would expire in mid-July. ? Governor plans to release details of long-term power contracts Eds: INSERTS 3 grafs after 7th graf "While revealing" to UPDATE with comment from Senate leader John Burton; Picks up 9th graf pvs:The 1996; ADDS byline With BC-CA-Power Woes-Glance ahstafjc<QL<[BYWIRE] By Alexa Haussler? <QC<<MC<ASSOCIATED PRESS<QC< [/BYWIRE][TEXT] ??? SACRAMENTO - Gov. Gray Davis plans to release the much-sought details this week of 38 long-term contracts between the state and power generators, aides said Tuesday. ??? "We now believe that the balance tips in favor of disclosure rather than continuing to withhold the contracts," said Davis senior adviser Nancy McFadden. ??? Republican lawmakers and several news organizations, including The Associated Press, filed lawsuits in March saying Davis' refusal to release details of the state's electricity purchases violates the California Public Records Act. ??? But the Davis administration has refused to release the contracts, saying that revealing the details would put the state at a competitive disadvantage in other contract talks. ??? The state has been purchasing power since January for customers of three cash-strapped utilities. Much of that has been on the expensive spot market, but increasingly, state officials have locked in contracts for long-term deals. ??? Raymond Hart, Department of Water Resources deputy director, sent letters to power generators Monday saying the department will ask a judge Wednesday to throw out a confidentiality provision in the contracts. ??? While revealing the details still might pose some problems in negotiations, "those impacts are far more limited than they might have been had the contracts been released even two weeks ago," the letter states. ??? Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, said lawmakers need to see the details of the contracts before they could approve the governor's plan to rescue Southern California Edison, or any alternate plan. ??? "Until we see those contracts, and know exactly what's in them, we can't make a determination," Burton said. "There was an argument that I think was valid that the governor made at beginning of the contracts. ... We're totally beyond that now." ??? Burton said Tuesday he'll introduce three energy-related measures in the Legislature - including one that would repeal a 10 percent rate hike scheduled to take effect next year. ??? The 1996 electricity deregulation law included an automatic 10 percent rate reduction until March 2002. Burton's bill would remove that out from state law, but the Public Utilities Commission could still raise rates if commissioners felt it was needed. ??? Burton is also authoring a bill to provide backup battery power for traffic signals in some intersections to keep the lights on during blackouts. ??? Burton's third measure is a resolution that voices support for Davis to commandeer power plants under his emergency powers authority. ??? "The governor talks about it," Burton said. "We're going to show him that there is support in the Senate for seizing these power plants from these generators who have been ripping us off." ??? AP-WS-06-12-01 1541EDT ? ?
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