Published Tuesday, July 10,  2001 




State discloses spot power  buys

By Andrew  LaMar
TIMES STAFF WRITER  


SACRAMENTO -- They range from small power  sales of $922,000 by the East Bay Municipal Utility District to more than $1  billion of power sold by Atlanta-based Mirant power company.  

All told, California paid $7.7  billion in spot purchases of electricity from 69 agencies across the United  States during the first five months of 2001, according to a report delivered to  lawmakers Monday.  

The data also shows that the state paid a hefty average of $263 per  megawatt-hour for the power. But what's most striking is the long list of  agencies, both private and public, that sold power to California.  

Agencies like the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $331 million;  the California Independent System Operator, $3.9 million; Public Service Company  of New Mexico, $126 million; and PG&E Energy Trading Company, $24 million.  

Receiving the most money was Atlanta-based Mirant, which sold $1.2 billion of  electricity to the state January through May. The second-largest seller was  Powerex, a subsidiary of Canada's BC Hydro, which earned $1 billion.  

The total cost per day ranged from as little as $20 million to more than $100  million on three separate days in May, when hot weather and tight supplies  boosted spot market prices.  

In addition, the report reveals that the state's energy consultants  significantly underestimated the amount of energy the state would need to buy in  April and May. Navigant Consulting, Inc., forecast the state would have to buy  12.1 million megawatt-hours for the two months but the state ended up purchasing  15.1 million megawatt-hours.  



The Sellers  

The following is a partial list of companies that sold electricity into the  California spot power market from Jan. 18 through May 31. For a full list, go to  www.contracostatimes.com .  



Company name, total dollar amount:  

Allegheny Energy, $97,113,823  

Arizona Public Services, $748,400  

Automated Power Exchange, $2,541  

Bonneville Power, $167,543,006  

BP Energy, $110,776,576  

California Department of Water Resources, $84,672,490  

Calpine Energy, $29,169,658  

City of Anaheim, $6,707,456  

City of Burbank, $92,271,904  

City of Glendale, $16,106,550  

City of Redding, $85,280  

City of Riverside, $62,700  

City of Seattle, $2,461,225  

City of Tacoma, $2,353,465  

City of Vernon, $4,398,288  

Commission de Federale Electricidad, $9,800,460  

Duke Energy, $164,325,467  

Dynegy, $296,294,363  

East Bay Municipal Utility District, $922,560  

El Paso Merchant Energy, $83,923,493  

Enron Power Marketing, Inc., $44,276,800  

Eugene Water & Electric Board, $94,147,219  

Fresno Cogeration, $214,008  

Grant County PUD, $49,013,211  

Merrill Lynch Capital Services, $92,185,980  

Modesto Irrigation District, $87,500  

Morgan Stanley Capital Group, $8,864,625  

Nevada Power Company, $25,378,035  

PG&E Energy Trading Companies, $23,718,708  

Portland General Electric Company, $354,821  

Public Service Company of New Mexico, $126,799,436  

Puget Sound Energy, $40,000  

Reliant Energy Service, $122,598,810  

Sacramento Municipal Utility District, $80,673,353  

San Diego Gas & Electric, $5,768,380  

Sempra Companies, $429,019,440  

Silicon Valley Power (City of Santa Clara), $116,000  

TransCanada Power, $38,829,528  

Tucson Electric Power, $10,236,050  

UC Davis Med Center, $1,141,600  

U.S. Dept. of Energy, $2,605,855