Such ideas are gaining momentum in Salem, much to the dismay of the chief sponsor of the 1999 deregulation law, Senate President Gene Derfler. He says he'll resist efforts to delay the law. You're not going to get people to build generation plants in Oregon if you delay the system. I think that if you delay the system two years, that it will never come back, we won't ever be there. And I think they'd be an unfortunately thing for the state of Oregon.
Consumer advocates oppose a delay as well.
The Oregon law includes investments in renewable energy, power conservation, and low-income weatherization. Even with such broad opposition to a delay, some of the employees at the Public Utility Commission might not mind a three-month delay. They've been overwhelmed by the regulatory minutia it takes to implement such a complicated law. Copyright 2000 Oregon Public Broadcasting, Inc . All Rights Reserved.