Governors push for trans-border power pact

Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger (R - CA) and Bill Richardson (D - NM) are pushing a collaborative power management plan among the States along the U.S. Mexican Border. If adopted, the plan would coordinate energy production, distribution and marketing:

That plan, promoted by Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, commits to shifting away from oil and coal over the next two decades and greatly increasing Western states' reliance on renewable energy, using tax breaks and other incentives.

"We will end up with cleaner air, cleaner water, an improved economy and a more diversified and stable power supply," Schwarzenegger told Mexican leaders.

"And these benefits will not stop at the border. They cannot. Not when our regions and our people are so intertwined."

Administration officials said the Mexican government, not individual Mexican states, controls most energy policy, but Schwarzenegger indicated he wanted governors to collectively pressure national leaders to adopt conservation and renewable energy standards.

One of the most contentious trans-border power issues is the construction of Liquified Natural Gas terminals. Companies seeking to avoid NIMBY opponents and California regulations have sought to place LNG ports in Baja California, even though the infrastructure isn't there yet to ship the natural gas directly into California.