Overload (8 page)

himself.

6

"We are agreed, then," J. Eric Humphrey said. His inquiring gaze swept

over the nine men and two women seated with him around the conference room

table. "We are agreed we should accept Nim's planning report in toto and

press at the highest level for immediate, urgent approval of the three

projects-Tunipah coal-burning plant, Devil's Gate pumped storage, and

opening the Fincastle geothermal field."

As nods and murmured assent greeted the chairman's summation, Nim Goldman

leaned back, for the moment relaxed. His presentation of future plans-the

product of intense work by himself and many otbers-had been a grueling

one.

The group, GSP&L's management committee, included all officers reporting

directly to the chairman. Officially, it rated second in authority to the

Board of Directors. In fact, it was the real fount of policy decisions

and power.

31

It was Monday afternoon and the meeting, which bad carried over from the

morning, had worked its way through a long agenda. A few around the table

showed signs of weariness.

Five days had passed since the disastrous explosion at La Mission and the

subsequent power failure. In the meantime there had been intensive studying

of entrails-the cause and effect of what had happened, along with

prognostications for the future. The inquisitions had continued late into

every night and over the weekend. Also, since last Wednesday, because of

cooler weather and some luck, no further blackouts had occurred. But one

conclusion was inescapable. There would be other blackouts, far more

serious, unless GSP & L began building more generating capacity soon.

"Soon" meant within the next year. Even then there could still be serious

shortages ahead since a conventional fossil-fueled power plant took five

years to design and build, a nuclear plant six-preceded, in each case, by

the four to six years it took to obtain the needed licenses.

"As well as those three projects we've been talking about," Oscar O'Brien,

the utility's general counsel, said, "I assume we will still press on with

our nuclear license applications." O'Brien was a former government lawyer

from Washington, a burly man, shaped like a bass fiddle, who smoked cigars

continuously.

Across the table from him, Ray Paulsen, executive vice president of power

supply, growled, "We goddam well better."

Next to Paulsen, Nim Goldman doodled thoughtfully on a pad. He reflected:

Despite their mutual dislike, and disputes in many areas, the one thing he

and Paulsen agreed on was a need for more power generation.

"Naturally," Eric Humphrey said, "we shall continue our nuclear program.

But in terms of public psychology we'll be better off, I believe, to let

nuclear stand alone and not be linked with the other plans. The route to

nuclear is strewn with hazards." He added hastily, "I mean hazards of

opposition."

The chairman continued, "Anticipating our decision here, I have already

arranged a meeting with the Governor-in Sacramento, the day after tomorrow.

I intend to urge him to bring pressure on all regulatory agencies to move

swiftly. I shall also suggest, for each of the three pro:ects, combined

hearings before all regulatory bodies from whom we require approval,

perhaps starting as early as next month."

"It's never been done that way, Eric," Stewart Ino, a senior vice president

in charge of rates and valuation, objected. Ino was an old-timer at GSP &

L; he had a chubby yeoman's face and with the addition of a ruff and velvet

hat could have been a British beefeater. An expert on licensing procedures,

he liked to follow them precisely. "Separate hearings have always been the

rule," he added. "To combine them would create complications."

32

"Let the lousy bureaucrats worry about that," Ray Paulsen told him. "I'm

for Eric's idea which would ~bove a live wire up their asses."

"Three live wires," someone said.

Paulsen grinned. "Better still."

Ino looked offendcd.

Ignoring the last exchange, Eric Humphrey observed, "Let's remember there

are strong arguments in favor of exceptional action. Moreover, we shall

never have a better time to press them. The power failure of last week

showed clearly that a crisis can happen; therefore crisis methods are

needed to counter it. Even in Sacramento I think they'll see that."

"In Sacramento," Oscar O'Brien said, "all they see is politics, Just as

in Washington. And let's face it-the opponents of what we plan will usc

politics to the bilt, with Tunipah at the top of their bate list."

There were reluctant murmurs of assent. Tunipah, as everyone around the

table realized, could prove the most controversial of the three

developments now being discussed. It was also, in several wavs, the most

vital of their plans.

Tunipah was a wilderness area near the California-Nevada border. It was

neither inbabited-the nearest small town was forty miles distant -nor

favored by sportsmen or naturalists since it held little of interest for

either. 'Hie region was difficult to get to and no roads, only a few

trails, traversed it. For all these reasons Tunipah had been chosen care-

fully.

What Golden State Power & Light proposed to build at Tunipah was an

enormous generating plant, capable of producing more than five million

kilowatts of electricity-enough to supply six cities the size of San

Francisco. The fuel to be used was coal. This would be transported by

rail from Utah, seven hundred miles away, where coal was plentiful and

relatively cheap. A rail link would be built-to the main line of the

Western Pacific Railroad-at the same time as the plant.

Coal could be North America's answer to Arab oil. Coal deposits within

the conterminous United States represent a third of the entire world's

known supply and are more than enough to satisfy U.S. energy needs for

three centuries. Alaska is believed to have another two thousand years'

supply. Admittedly, coal presented problems. Mining was one, air

pollution another, though modern technologies were at work on both. At

new electric utility plants in other states, smokestacks a thousand feet

high, supplemented by electrostatic filters and scrubbers that removed

sulfur from smokestack gases, were reducing pollution to acceptable

levels. And at Tunipah, what pollution there was would be far removed

from inhabited or recreation areas.

Something else Tunipah would do was to permit the closing of some of

GSP&L's older, oil-burning plants. This would further reduce de-

33

pendence on imported oil and produce big cost savings, present and future.

Logic favored the Tunipah project. But, as all public utilities bad learned

from experience, logic didn't rule, nor did the greater public good if a

handful of determined objectors-no matter how warped or unqualified their

judgments-decided otherwise. By the use of slow, procedural tactics applied

with ruthless skill, a project like Tunipah could be so long delayed as to

be, in reality, defeated. Those who consistently opposed any electric

utility expansion made effective use of Parkinson's third law: Delay is the

deadliest form of denial.

"Is there more discussion?" J. Eric Humphrey asked. Several of those around

the conference table had begun stuffing papers into briefcases, assuming

the meeting to be almost over.

"Yes," Teresa Van Buren said. "I'd like a nickel's worth."

Heads turned toward the public relations vice president, her short, plump

figure thrust forward to command attention. Her normally unruly hair was

more or less tidy today, presumably in deference to the occasion, but she

still wore one of her inevitable linen suits.

"Twisting the Governor's arm the way you plan, Eric, and stroking other

egos around the state capitol is okay," she pronounced. "I'm in favor of

it. But it isn't enough, not nearly enough to achieve what we want, and

here's the reason."

Van Buren paused. Reaching down beside her seat, she produced two

newspapers and spread them on the conference room table. "This is this

afternoon's California Examiner-an early edition I had sent inand this one,

this morning's Chronicle-West, which you've undoubtedly all seen. I've been

through both papers carefully and there's not a word in either about last

week's power outage. For one day, as we know, the subject was big news, the

next day minor news; after that it disappeared. And what's true of the

press is true of other media."

"So what?" Ray Paulsen said. "There's been other news. People lose

interest."

"They lose interest because no one keeps them interested. Out there" -Van

Buren waved an arm in the general direction of the world beyond the

conference room-"out there the press and public think of an electric power

shortage as a here-today-gone-tomorrow, short-term problem. Almost no one

is considering the long-term effects of power shortages which we know are

getting closer-drastically lower living standards, dislocation of industry,

catastrophic unemployment. And nothing will change that outside, uninformed

thinking unless we make it change."

Sharlett Underhill, executive vice president of finance and the other woman

at the table, asked, "How do you make anybody think anything?"

34

"I'll answer that," Nim Goldman said. He snapped down his pencil. "One

way is to start shouting the trutb-tbe way things real1v are, not holding

back-and to go on shouting loud and clear and often

Ray Paulsen said sardonically, "In other words, you'd like to be on TV

four times a week instead of twice?"

Nim ignored the interruption. He went on, "We should, as company policy,

keep on proclaiming what everyone at this table knows: That last week our

peak load was twenty-two million kilowatts, and demand is growing by a

million kilowatts a year. That, assuming the same growth rate, in three

years Nve'll be short on reserves, in four years we'll have none. So bow

will we manage? The answer is: we won't. Any fool can see what's

coming-three years from now, blackouts every time It's hot; and in six

years, blackouts every summer day. We have got to get some new generators

built and we have to tell the public the consequences of not building

them."

There was a silence which Van Buren broke. "We all know every word of

that is true, so why not say so? There's even an opportunity next week.

Nim has been booked for Tuesday on The Good Evening Show, which has a big

following."

Paulsen grunted. "Too bad I'll be out that night."

"I'm not at all sure we should be that forthright," Sharlett Underhill

said. "I need hardly remind everyone we have an application in process

for a rate increase and we desperately need that extra revenue. I don't

want to see our chances of getting it jeopardized."

"Frankness is likely to improve our chances," Van Buren said, "not

diminish them."

The finance vice president shook her bead. "I'm not so sure. And

something else I believe is that the kind of statements we're talking