Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 5, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Governors Locke and Kitzhaber renew call for energy conservation

Skamania County, WA - Citing a very tight energy supply situation for the winter, governors Gary Locke of Washington and John Kitzhaber of Oregon renewed their call today for citizens of the two states to conserve energy. At a news conference at Bonneville Dam, the two governors suggested specific actions that could be taken both by homeowners and businesses and committed both state governments to conservation plans.

The call comes a day after the Northwest Power Planning Council and the regional energy Emergency Response Team (ERT) concurred in a forecast that showed the Northwest could face an energy shortage in cold weather this winter, and faced a potential shortage due to the relatively dry winter.

"We need to conserve now so we are prepared if the weather gets colder," said Gov. Kitzhaber. "Oregonians and Washingtonians showed their community spirit last month when we were facing a shortage and cut consumption by more than 800 megawatts over a weekend. We need to make that kind of conservation standard operating procedure for the remainder of the winter," Kitzhaber said.

"The good habits we develop now can not only carry us through a precarious winter season, but we hope will serve as permanent changes in the way we use energy. By avoiding waste, we can keep our energy bills more stable and help assure a sustainable level of power for both the short and long term. Things are changing, perhaps for the foreseeable future and adapting to that change now will make the transition that much smoother, " Locke said.

The potential energy shortage has been caused by a number of factors, chief among them strong continued growth of both the western and northwestern economies and a slower than expected growth in electrical generating capacity. The situation has been made worse by an energy shortage in California. California normally exports power to the northwest during the winter but is unable to do so this winter.

Specifically, governors Locke and Kitzhaber asked homeowners to:

1. Lower water heating temperatures and use less hot water
2. Lower space-heating temperatures
3. Use less artificial lighting

In addition to these immediate measures, the governors asked that homeowners make longer term investments in conservation such as

1. Investing in energy efficient appliances when it's time to replace the old.
2. Switching out incandescent lighting with fluorescent lights.
3. Weatherizing their homes by contacting the utility that provides heat for a free energy audit to determine the best measures.
4. Find and seal all of the leaks in their homes such as entry/exit holes for piping, floor and ceiling cracks, door and window frames.

The governors asked business owners to:

1. Lower space-heating temperatures
2. Use less artificial indoor lighting
3. Turn off outdoor display lighting
4. Turn off unused equipment

In addition, both governors said they would implement plans to reduce state government energy consumption by taking many of the same measures, and called upon city and county governments to do the same.

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