50 



"l^t:^' NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL ' ™cf,SS,'" 



""'"" 851 S.W. SIXTH AVENUE, SUITE 1100 """"°"°' 



'°r.,'.r" PORTLAND, OREGON 97204-1337 w°r.'°;; 



Jay L Webb T«d Haltocfc 



»•'» Phone: 503-222-5161 ">-" 



.rt.n**,s,.vu. jou Free: 1-800-222-3355 "'^^Sl."" 



FAX: 503-795-3370 



Testimony of the 



Northwest Power P lanning Council 



before the 



BonneviDe Power Administration Task Force 



Committee on Natural Resources 



United States House of Represmtati ves 



Eugene, Oregon 

 September 25, 1S>93 



Good Morning. 



My naine is Tom Tnilove, and I am a Washington member of the Northwest Power 

 Planning Council. With me today is Angus Duncan, an Oregon member of the Council. 



We are pleased to be able to present the views of the Council on the important issues 

 you are covering in this hearing. Many of the questions you posed address a broader issue 

 than just the recent debate about the competitiveness of the Bonneville Power 

 Administration. Before answering your specific questions regarding Bonneville, we would 

 like to explore with you briefly what may be a significant restructuring in the electric utility 

 industry, and how it might affect this region's ability to accomplish the goals set forth in the 

 Northwest Power Act of 1980. 



The Power Act envisioned a region in which most utilities would rely on Bonneville 

 to develop new resources. In that context, Bonneville and the Council were given 

 resfKjnsibilities to keep the region's electricity low-cost and reliable through careful long- 

 term planning and the development of the most cost-effective and least environmentally 

 damaging resources. The Act, as you know, emphasized public involvement in developing 

 these plans. 



As things have worked out, some of the region's utilities and industries are looking 

 beyond Bonneville for their power supplies. This is the result of doubt about Bonneville's 

 ability to continue to offer a competitively priced product. Competitiveness is everyone's 



