On May 5th at an oral argument on PG&E's motion to withdraw, one Commissioner continued to question whether the Path 15 upgrade was needed and whether enough research and analysis was done.

At the May 7th Commission meeting, additional arguments were made for more delay, more deliberation, more documentation, more negotiation.

The two years of inaction and litigation over turf on Path 15 is emblematic of this Commission's inability to step up to the plate and make critical decisions. This pattern of political paralysis and regulatory uncertainty has cost California ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessarily high rates.

The train has left the station on Path 15. While California continues to wring its hands and throw up roadblocks at every turn, the federal government moved this critical project forward.

Analysis by the ISO indicates that the upgrade to Path 15 will save ratepayers money:

"The $300 million cost of upgrading Path 15 could easily be recovered within four years, whereas in less likely but still plausible scenarios, the benefits of the upgrade [could] exceed the costs in one year. Put another way, the cost to consumers of not upgrading Path 15 could be very substantial..."

"...the cost per consumer in California is about twenty cents per month. In my book, that amounts to pretty cheap insurance against market power."

There is a famous adage: Lead, Follow or Get out of the way.

After two years of obstruction and delay, this Commission finally voted to get out of the way and allow this critical upgrade to Path 15 move forward.

San Francisco, California

May 22, 2003

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