i
features
Battalion/Page 48
April 8,1982
Millionaire hosts
Customers outraged by payments
benefit to support
murder defendant
Utilities having to repay bonds
United Press International
FORT WORTH — It had all
the trappings of a Texas-style
millionaire’s reception — about
50 people in their best Finery
motoring up the curving drive
way to the front door of a posh
mansion — called in the name of
raising funds for a worthy cause.
The difference is the money
raised at the $100-a-person be
nefit will help pay the legal fees
of a murder defendant.
Karen and Cullen Davis
sponsored the event Wednesday
night on behalf of their new
friend, Pamela Fielder, 36, who
faces trial April 19 on charges of
shooting her husband five times
last July.
Davis, a multimillionaire
businessman, is acquainted with
the cost of defense lawyers. He
was cleared of charges in trials in
1977 and 1979 stemming from
the shooting deaths of his 12-
year-old stepdaughter and
estranged wife’s boyfriend, and
an alleged conspiracy to kill a
judge.
The Davises met Fielder
through their church affiliation
in October. The Davises and
other church members have ral
lied to Fielder’s side, said the
Rev. Ron Davis of Bethel
Temple.
Although Fielder was one of
the city’s pre-emiment gyneco
logists, Fielder’s attorney, Don
Gandy, said his client is as good
as broke. Her assets were frozen
in a lawsuit field by Fielder’s re
latives, he said.
The Davis’ hoped to raise
$20,000 to pay the legal fees of
attorney Richard “Racehorse’
Haynes, inviting old friends and
business associates of Fielder to
the reception. Haynes led the
defense for Davis in his two
trials.
Neither Fielder nor Davis
could be reached today for com
ment on the fund raiser.
United Press International
SEATTLE — People don’t ex
pect something for nothing, but
they get downright angry at get
ting nothing for something.
Thousand? of residents of
the Pacific Northwest are angry.
They have been advised they
will have to pay plenty for two
partly built nuclear power plants
that likely will never produce a
kilowatt. The bill could run as
high as $7 billion.
The Washington Public Pow
er Supply System, which uses
the acronym WPPSS, is now de
risively termed “Whoops” by the
angry ratepayers.
WPPSS, a consortium of utili
ties, had the two plants barely 20
percent complete when cost
overruns and soaring interest
rates brought construction to a
halt last June.
With $2.25 billion already in
vested in the plants, the 88 owm-
ers — public utilities from
Washington, Oregon, Idaho
and Montana — decided in
January to terminate the pro
jects.
As a result, average utility
rates in Washington are ex-
C ected to increase $16 a month
y next January and triple by
1985.
When the first increases hit,
Washington customers were
“I am a human being
and I have helped make
this country as much as
anyone else has. I do not
deserve to go hungry or
eat dog food because of
utility policies.” — 86-
year-old Zora Minnich.
outraged. Meetings of public
utilities commissioners, usually
sparsely attended, have become
crowded with chanting rate
payers.
“I am a human being and I
have helped make this country
as much as anyone else has. I do
not deserve to go hungry or eat
dog food because of utility J>oli-
cies,” said 86-year-old Zora Min
nich, who lives on $181 a month.
“It’s anger and frustration
that’s bringing us out,” said Gary
Lintz, organizer of the protests
in one county.
The ratepayers’ wrath is not
directed so much at the plants —
WPPSS No. 4 at Hanford in east
ern Washington and WPPSS
No. 5 at Satsop on the west side
of the state — as at the WPPSS.
WPPSS’ ambitious program
to build five nuclear power
plants was put together in 1968.
The system estimated the five
plants would cost $4 billion. By
1981 the estimate had swollen to
$24 billion, making it the largest
public works project in history.
The Bonneville Power Admi
nistration, a federal power dis
tribution agency, backed the
first three nuclear plants. BPA
was sure the power from those
three reactors would be needed
and agreed to buy all of it for
resale to regional power cus
tomers.
But BPA refused to back pro
jects 4 and 5, essentially leaving
the 88 sponsoring utilities on
their own to make good on the
bonds sold to finance them.
The angry customers want
the termination costs eliminated
from their bills. Some want their
commissioners to resign. Some
want their PUDs to withhold any
payments on bonds issued for
lants 4 and 5. Others favor de-
I
faulting altogi
ti-million doll
ether on their mul-
lar bond indebted
ness.
WPPSS wants a controlled
termination that systematically
will meet all obligations. Uncon
trolled termination — including
the possibility of default on 4
and 5 bonds — is greatly feared
by most utilities and publicul
cials throughout the Norths
Failure to meet all deblit
the 4 and 5 projects will emit
ger bond ratings forplantsl
and 3 and may bring all tj
struction to a halt.
WPPSS must start payin|ij
terest on the 4 and 5 bondsmi
January. If termination mi
course, the total cost of pi
off all bills and all bon(is|i
interest is calculated ameaibl
billion over three decades, j
Richard Baxendale, whom
resents the participatingFll
said if a utility defaults osi
share of 4 and 5, it willaua
tically open itself to lawmiil
WPPSS as well as the87«j
participating PUDs.
“The ultimate underwif
of those nuclear plants arts
ratepayers,” said Jeffrey Wi
horn, bond analyst withDreiii
Corp. “If the widow namedil:
Jones says, ‘Hell no, I won’t]*
you have the possibility of|
fault.”
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