Uncertain Future for Power in West

PORTLAND, Ore. – There is general consensus that the West needs more long-distance power lines.

The big question is, who pays for them? Another is, who controls them? And finally, how much should it cost to use them?

Utility managers and regulators say those questions need to be answered soon – before demand outstrips the power supply to some of the fastest-growing areas of the nation.

Otherwise, the risk of a blackout, like the one that left the East Coast in the dark in 2003, keeps rising.

AP