Water district mulls forming power source

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press January 8, 2001

By BRENDA ZAHN
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - As the state ponders the current energy crisis, the Palmdale Water District has formed a committee to look into whether it should create its own source of electricity to power its operations.

The California Water Code allows the district to buy, sell and generate electricity, said Dennis LaMoreaux, general manager for the Palmdale Water District. So far, the district has not exercised its right to do so.

"The board is interested in gathering information about that just because of the uncertainty that's going on right now in the electricity business," LaMoreaux said. "To run the water system, we're heavily dependent on electricity."

The district's move is in response to concern over rising power costs and the possibility of power outages as a result of deregulation of the energy industry.

LaMoreaux said the district has several options regarding electricity.

"If we got into looking at generation, we would either generate it for our use or somehow make it come straight to us through Edison," he said.

At its Dec. 27 meeting, the board set up a committee consisting of LaMoreaux and board members Leslie Carter and Nolan Negaard. Negaard brought the matter to the attention of the board.

"I've been aware for some time that irrigation districts are provided the authority by the water code to generate and sell electricity," Negaard said. "It simply hasn't been part of our plan, our recent plan, anyway, to get involved in it, because Edison has been a good provider."

But now, with the rising cost of electricity, Negaard said he wants to protect water district customers from higher water rates prompted by the higher electricity costs.

"We move water around our system with electricity," Negaard said. "We have no idea what these rates are going to do to us."

The committee will investigate options open to the district, LaMoreaux said, including the use of alternatives such as hydroelectric or wind power in its operations. By creating its own electricity, the district could decrease the amount of energy it has to get from Southern California Edison.

A hydroelectric generator already at the water treatment plant at Lake Palmdale is not used right now because it was not cost effective, LaMoreaux said.

"Maybe there's better equipment out there, other ways to run that would be more cost effective," he said.

As far as wind power, the district could possibly partner with an existing wind farm, he said.

Another alternative is getting involved in a new power plant that could provide electricity to people who live within the water district's boundaries. That could mean partnering with someone who is already building a power plant or building a plant themselves. The district will probably not pursue that option, LaMoreaux said.

"That would be a long process, I suppose, at best," he said.

The district is more heavily dependent on electric power than it was a decade ago because stricter air-quality regulations have forced it to shut down many of its natural gas engines, LaMoreaux said.

"We have just two facilities that work under natural gas full time out of probably over 50 sites," he said.

The district will look at grants or low-interest loans to fund any electricity project, he said, adding that the decision about whether to create electricity probably won't be made anytime soon.

"It takes quite a while to get involved in that," LaMoreaux said. "Maybe there are things we can do in the meantime."

Creating some internal energy source could be a positive development for the district, LaMoreaux said.

"In the long term, if you have control over what you need to operate, it's going to be better for you," he said.

He said he does not anticipate the project would cause a rate increase.