Spatwatch

Arizona Threatens to Shut Off L.A.'s Power

Max Fisher 219 Views May 19, 2010
Outrage against Arizona's controversial anti-immigration law has yielded a vigorous debate about boycotting Arizona and an actual boycott against the state by the city leadership of Los Angeles. But if there's anything we've learned about Arizona conservatives it's that they're not likely to take perceived threats sitting down. Some are trying to outdo L.A. with their own retaliatory boycott of the city. The threats are probably just that and it's unlikely that L.A. is about to go dark or that Arizona could have its air travel blocked. But these are some fierce words.
If Los Angeles wants to boycott Arizona, it had better get used to reading by candlelight. That's the message from a member of Arizona's top government utilities agency, who threw down the gauntlet Tuesday in a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa by threatening to cut off the city's power supply as retribution. ...

Appearing to tap into local frustration in Arizona over the raft of boycotts and threatened boycotts from cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Pierce warned that Arizona companies are willing and ready to fight boycott with boycott. ...

[Gary] Pierce told FoxNews.com that he was speaking for himself, not the entire commission, though he has the support of at least one other member. But Arizona has some serious leverage over Los Angeles, as well as the rest of California. The state and city get electricity from a nuclear power plant outside Phoenix, as well as from coal-fired power plants in northern Arizona and two giant hydroelectric power generators along the Colorado River.

You explained your support of the boycott as follows: "While we recognize that as neighbors, we share resources and ties with the State of Arizona that may be difficult to sever, our goal is not to hurt the local economy of Los Angeles, but to impact the economy of Arizona. Our intent is to use our dollars — or the withholding of our dollars — to send a message."

I received your message; please receive mine. As a state-wide elected member of the Arizona Corporation Commission overseeing Arizona’s electric and water utilities, I too am keenly aware of the "resources and ties" we share with the City of Los Angeles. In fact, approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.

If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands.

If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at mfisher at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Topics:
Related Articles   More by Max Fisher

Michael Gerson on Immigration Reform

Op-Ed Spotlight: Arizona Governor Defends Law on ESPN

11 Out of 85,000 Muslims Registered by Homeland Security Had Terrorism Ties

 

What's Next for Tunisia?

Guarded Optimism for Iran Nuclear Talks

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App