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" 002256 THE NE'YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, MAR.21. 1984 AR11iUR OCMS SULZBERGER. PublUlw . A. M. ROSElnl{AL, Ezn:utu.oe EdilM' SEYMOUR TOPPING.M~ EdiW' ARTHUR GELD. IkplJty MaNJRlIIIf Edllor JAMES 1.. GREeNFIELD.Aui.stcnl MIV\(Z,fUt,f Ediw LOUIS SrLVERSTEIN. A.uc:.rlaltl MMaglllg Edi.tor , . MAX FRANKEL EdiloriaJ Pag~ EdiW .JACK ROSENTHAL. DrplJty EditorJal Page Editor . CHARUYrTE CURTIS, AuociaU EdikJr TOM WlCKER,Auocl4k Editor . JOHN D. POMP'REI. Ene. v.P.. (dn,eral M~c,. LA.N'CE R. PRl~f[S. SI'. Y.P.. Ad~rft$i.n8 J. A. RIGGS JR.. Sr. VP.. ()perahoM HOWARD BISHDW, Y.P.Employrf! RrWtion.J RUSSELL T. LEWIS. VP-. Ciuulatio" JOHNM.O'BRfEN, Y.P..Con.troUu ELlSE J. ROSS. Y.P., Sysum.l ~l)e~c\uYorlt~imtS FolUl.lUdinl&s1 ADOlPH S.OCKS.Ptt6li.sM,. r896-r9.3S ARTHUR tv. YS SULZBERGER. Publ.i.sMr 19J5.1961 QRVTL E. DRVYoos. Puhli.Wr 1961.1953 Greedy for Power If a giant oil reserve were discovered under the Pentagon. would the Government give it away to voters who live in nearby Maryland and Virginia? That. in effect, is what President Reagan and many members of Congress Want to do with the more than $400 mIllion worth at electricity generated annually by Hoover Dam. The last hope of stopping that 30- year sign-away of a public resource rests with the House. . When it was tinished in 1937, the giant hydro- electric tacility on the Colorado River was still called Boulder Dam. Its size and power output made it one of the seven wonders of the modem world. The Federal Government signed 50-year con- tracts to deliver the power, at cost, to pUblic and pri- vate power authorities in Calitornia, Nevada and Arizona. This electricity was always a bargain; it sold over the decades at an average price of one-sixth of a cent per kilowatt-hour. Wholesale power in the same region now sells for as much as 7 cents a kwh. Hoover Dam power at halt a cent is virtually a steal. No wonder that the three benetiting states are pressing tor legislation that weuld lock in the bar- gain thr~ugh the year 2017. n.e Environmental Detense Fund. perceiving that the undel1lricing of hydro;lOwer discourages conservation and increases demand for coal and nu- clear power, argues that Heaver's electricity should be auctioned of( to the highest bidders. San Diego, paying very high electricity costs and denied any portion of' Hoover power, supports the auction alternative. But these appeals have so far been ig- nored. The Administration's budget otfice might have , been expected to oppose such a giveaway at Govern- ment resources. But the President is apparentiy un- willing to upset his Western supporters in an elec- tion year. The sign-away bill breezed through the Senate with bipartisan support. House Democrats, too. seem reluctant to end up on the wrong side at the politics of cheap hydropower. In this case their re- luctance is probably reinforced by the fact that ReI>- resentative Manis Udall, the Tucson Democrat who chairs the House Interior Committee, Is a sponsor 01 the bill. There are many ways to ratlenalize support for the measure: It only continues the existing system of power distribution. . . It's too late tor eftective opposition. . . Millions will bene tit from the low-cost electricity. But beyond these rationalizations lles a simple truth. It's just not fair to treat national re- sources as pork to be sliced up tor the neighbors. When Calitornia. Nevada and Arizona don't pay their share 01 energy costs, someone else must. .~~ -,:1 / - ,'I Lj