By Jennifer Langston
Herald Writer
The Snohomish County PUD temporarily has been banned from disclosing how much it’s paying two energy companies for power.
Pro Tem Superior Court Commissioner Donald Senter on Thursday granted the two companies a temporary restraining order forbidding the utility from releasing that information, which was requested under the state’s public records act.
A more thorough hearing on the issue was scheduled for Tuesday.
A former PUD employee asked for contracts the utility signed with power suppliers early this year after energy prices skyrocketed, which locked the PUD into paying high prices for up to eight years. Those deals are partly responsible for steep rate hikes customers have borne this year.
David Aldrich, a PUD watchdog, thinks the public utility shouldn’t be allowed to keep basic information — like how much it’s paying for power — a secret.
American Electric Power and Enron Power Marketing, which sued the PUD in Snohomish County Superior Court, argued that revealing the prices contained in their contracts with the public utility would give competitors an unfair advantage.
Their lawyer argued the formulas and research used to establish the prices are trade secrets, which by law are protected from public scrutiny.
Beth Ginsberg, an attorney representing AEP and Enron, said releasing sensitive information under the state public disclosure act would make companies leery of doing business with public utilities.
"Ultimately the PUD and the consumer will be the loser in all of this," she said.
Don Cohen, an attorney representing the PUD, said the utility has competing interests and is essentially looking for guidance from a judge.
Being open with its customers is an important goal, he said. However, if releasing the information will stifle competition, those customers could suffer in the long run.
"The PUD is sort of between a rock and a hard place," he said. "The PUD is essentially neutral, but if the (energy companies’) info is correct in all this, the PUD has serious concern about the impact on its ratepayers."
You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452 or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.
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