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Western States Water Council Water Resources Committee Minutes San Antonio, Texas October 20, 2005 . At present, 13 of 14 proposed power plants are looking at hybrid or dry cooling, which has implications for efficient, heat rate and emissions. Hydropower availability and water use are issues. There is increasing competition for resources. Commissioner Geesman, an investment banker, next addressed the group. He sits on both "renewables" and "facility siting" committees. He described integrated energy planning strategies. California had an active role in the 1970s, but following the mid-199Qs deregulation era, abandoned energy planning entirely. Then came the 2001 meltdown. I came to the Commission in 2002. The inescapable message is: "We don't have a handle on electrical needs of our water system. Water supply and demand balancing is difficult, and is divorced from electricity planning. Water development, transportation, treatment and reuse account for about 20-25 % of power demands in California. We now invest more effort in electricity forecasting for the future, but it is alarming that we don't know more about the water side. Further, 32% of our natural gas goes to water uses. We need to assist water districts and encourage them to provide their own generation. Each generator is now treated that same as a power company. Like individual generators, let districts generate and get credit for power. The same goes for sewage treatment, but there are legal and policy obstacles to future generation. FERC hydropower licensing and future relicensing, . with modern retrofits to get more power, is another area of concern. We can make better use of water storage, and there are some political opportunities. Also, California wants to shift more ofload to renewables. We have aggressive goals - 20% by 2010, and 30% by 2020. But renewables best serve us in winter and at night, not on summer afternoons. The value of electricity at night is below 1 cent or less per kilowatt hour. Power companies with nuclear plants essential might pay you to use electricity at night. Water wholesalers and retailers might use this opportunity. Many irrigation districts are already on "time of use" rates. However, for the most part, energy efficiency and water conservation programs are disconnected. Investors have spent $2 billion through 2008 to gear up energy/water conservation efforts. There has been some progress with natural gas savings and hot water, but utilities can't fund cold water savings now. California's water use is mostly urban, and there is an enormous pumping power load. We lean hard on agriculture for water savings, while raising electric load (while reducing diesel use to improve air quality). We need to better integrate energy and water conservation opportunities. Questions and Answers Weir Labatt: "Is someone from the Governor's side working on this? What about the California Department of Water Resources?" Geesman: NREL and the Western Governors' Association (WGA) want to promote dialogue. DWR is underfunded in this area. There is little coordination in most states. It's true that California is . looking at this more because of its problems with electricity and water demands. 8