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A local environmental group is calling on City Water,
Light & Power to adopt five standards of the federal Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act. But federal law only requires that CWLP consider the
new standards, formally accepting or rejecting them by August. “We’re not required not to do anything
right away. That would be up to City Council,” says CWLP
regulatory-affairs manager Bill Murray. Agreeing to adopt the standards will have no
immediate financial impact unless the council chooses to implement them,
Murray says. However, Clean Energy Springfield hopes that the
council will choose to act. Group member Greg Claxton says that his organization
wants CWLP to implement the new standards, which would put Springfield on
the path to energy self-reliance and long-term sustainability. Passed in 2005, the new standards promotes
conservation and alternative sources of energy by making net metering,
time-use metering, and interconnection services available, as well as
encouraging a fuel-diversity strategy and improved efficiency of the utility’s
fossil-fuel use. At a May 30 CWLP public hearing, utility officials
presented their recommendation that the agency accept each of the five
standards with some modifications. About a half-dozen members of the public in
attendance were also given the opportunity to make comments, provide
testimony, and ask questions related to these standards. Additional written comments will be accepted through
June 21.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2007.
