ASSEMBLYMAN REVISING WATER BILL : RUNNER PLAN COULD LET CASTAIC AGENCY SELL POWER TO RETAILERS.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

Assemblyman George Runner said he is revising one of his bills that could have allowed the Castaic Lake Water Agency to sell electrical power to consumers.

Runner said Friday that his bill, AB 388, would allow the water agency to resell power to only two water retailers, but the current language of the bill could grant the agency more leeway.

``I have some concerns with an agency that is tax-supported competing with the private sector because they have an advantage - they have their overhead covered,'' Runner said at his meeting with the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valencia Industrial Association.

``If their intent is to get into the power business, we would have some concerns at that point,'' he said.

Glen Becerra, the public affairs regional manager for Southern California Edison Co., told Runner that Edison shares those concerns.

``The bill is broad enough that it opens up other things,'' Becerra said.

He said Edison is opposing Runner's bill in its current form but would back the legislation if it restricts Castaic to selling to only the two water retailers.

When the bill was introduced in February, Castaic officials said they wanted to resell electricity to two of its retailers at a lower rate.

``That was the original intent,'' Jerry Gladbach, a member of the Castaic board of directors, said in an interview later Friday.

``I don't think it's anything we want to do,'' Gladbach said, referring to the complications that would be involved if the agency were to become a general electrical wholesaler.

Castaic, a public agency, is the sole local wholesaler of water from the State Water Project. It sells water to the Newhall County Water District, L.A. County Waterworks District No. 36, both public agencies; and the Valencia Water Co. and Santa Clarita Water Co., both private agencies. The three public agencies can buy electric power at a reduced rate from a state cooperative called AQUA.

Castaic's general manager, Robert Sagehorn, could not be reached for comment Friday but earlier said he would like to be able to pass the AQUA savings on to the two private companies, even though Castaic would see no monetary benefit from the transaction. Each of the water agencies is a bulk user of electric power.

Becerra said that under state deregulation that will go into effect Jan. 1, 1998, the private water companies will be able to shop around for cheaper electricity, probably lower than the AQUA rates. But he said there is a chance deregulation could be phased in, delaying the date for competition.

Runner said he has been meeting with Edison and Castaic officials to narrow the intent of the bill so that it is clear the water agency would only be able to resell electricity to the two private water retailers.