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One of the cornerstones of the Northwest Power Act was 

 the authorization of BPA to acquire the output of major 

 resources and make it available to the region's utilities to 

 serve their customers' needs. It was contemplated that BPA 

 and the region's utilities would work together in these major 

 resource acquisitions. (This is reflected for example in 

 section 6(m) of the Northwest Power Act that specifically 

 contemplates that the region's electric utilities will have an 

 opportunity to participate in major resource acquisitions by 

 BPA.) Although conservation and small generating projects are 

 assuming a significant role in the region, the objectives of 

 the Northwest Power Act with respect to BPA's role in the 

 acquisition of major resources should not be abandoned, if and 

 to the extent major resources acquisitions are undertaken. 



BPA should in any event continue to assist utilities in 

 transmission and other activities for which BPA and its 

 resources are uniquely suited. BPA should for example explore 

 a wide range of options for increasing opportunities for 

 regional utilities to participate in transmission projects. A 

 good example of this approach is BPA's offering of non-Federal 



would help to spread the risk of such a project. One of BPA's roles upon 

 adoption of the Northwest Power Act was generally seen to be spreading the 

 risk of such large projects and also providing transmission and load 

 factoring to enhance the usefulness of new resources and also promoting 

 conservation. However, the implementation of the Public Utility Regulatory 

 Policies Act ( "PURPA" ) , the advent of independent power producers and other 

 developments encouraging acquisition of a diversity of generating resources 

 and conservation have significantly changed the utility industry. 



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