By
The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. - Residents in southern Arizona will likely see limited benefits from companies rushing to build power lines, pipelines and plants in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consumer advocates said.
With Mexico and California facing energy shortfalls, American companies want to focus on Arizona and Mexico, where construction is cheaper and quicker.
Effects of the new construction could include new electric lines crossing the desert, new power plants opening on both sides of the border and increased pollution, critics said.
Company officials said the proposed construction would spur economic growth in Mexico, provide property-tax revenue to governments and eventually might reduce the cost of electricity.
Perhaps the most direct benefit for Arizona consumers would be an improvement in reliability because of the expansion of the grid that serves the area.
"The more supply you have, the better it is, the more stable it is," said Alan Sweedler, director of the Center for Energy Studies at San Diego State University.
But Al Sterman, vice president of the Arizona Consumers Council, said Arizona will get little out of it.
Electrical-service reliability, for instance, is a big problem only in Santa Cruz County, Sterman said. Therefore, the broad improvement in the electric grid by connecting to Mexico would likely go unnoticed outside the Nogales area.
While Mexico's utility company will decide the destination of the energy, the most likely consumers are in northern Mexico's industrial sector.
Critics said they are concerned about pollution from plants and industry.
"What I would rather we did is invest in energy conservation in Mexico," said Diana Liverman, director of the Latin American Area Center at the University of Arizona. "All of what's happening in our energy policy right now seems to be focused on increasing supplies and not addressing efficiency and conservation."
The electrical connection to Mexico would not expose Arizona to greater risks of power interruption, Sweedler said.
