251 



-S'l^r^lT".^™ ®-*- l^ouit of Etpref(cntatibt« !SrH';™'' "'-••" 



HJVH^:.H;,r~ Committet on i^^-'ji^lHr'*"* 



'£.'7i:z'j:^'Z^ Natural ^tiomtti "'^i'B'hlil'-"" 



■fl«tJington, BC 205i5-«20i z 



April 23, 1993 



MEMORANDUM 



TO: CoBunittee on Natural R««ourc«8, Bonneville Power 

 Administration Task Force, Majority Members 



FROM: Majority Staff, Committee on Natural Resources 



RE: Task Force Hearing on the Bonneville Power 



Administration's Fiscal Year 1994 Budget, April 28, 

 1993, 1:00 p.m.. Room 1324 Longworth House Office Bldg. 



Purpose of the Hearing 



BPA is currently experiencing a financial crisis due to a 

 wide variety of factors, including low aluminum prices ( "DSI" 

 power rate is linJced to the price of aluminum) , increased 

 electric demand, the closure of the Trojan nuclear plant, a 

 series of extremely dry years, failure to increase rates in the 

 past, and modifications in power operations to reduce harm to 

 endangered salmon. As a consequence BPA may have to increase 

 power rates by more than twenty percent. This rate increase will 

 be permanent even if weather conditions improve. 



In order to reduce the amount of the rate increase the 

 Administrator of BPA, Randy Hardy, plans to cut the BPA budget in 

 a number of areas. The budget choices that BPA meOces in the 

 context of the current crisis will not only affect BPA's near- 

 term fin«UK3ial viability, they will also involve important policy 

 decisions relating to its energy resource mix, energy efficiency, 

 the protection of salmon and many other issues. The purpose of 

 this hearing is to identify areas where BPA can cut its budget 

 and reduce the proposed rate increase without compromising 

 important policy goals. 



Background on BPA Task Forc* 



The Task Force will convene for the first time at this April 

 28th hearing and pursuant to Democratic Caucus rules will 



