94 



TDr^n 



Written Comments by the 

 Oregon Department of Energy department of 



prepared for the energy 



U.S. House of Representatives 



Committee on Natural Resources 



Bonneville Power Administration Task Force 



Field Hearing 



July 12, 1993 



Portland, Oregon 



la. What are BPA's strengths and weaknesses in the resource acquisition field? 



Bonneville has a unique blend of authority, responsibility, scope, and resources at its 

 disposaL Therefore, Bonneville can shape the development of least-cost energy 

 throughout the region and the western United States and Canada. Among other 

 resource activities, Bonneville can serve as a focal point for sharing lowest cost resources 

 region-wide, for making state-of-the-art conservation practices and technology 

 commonplace, and for promoting research and development of new, innovative supply 

 resources. Boimeville's m^or strengths also include sound resource acquisition planning 

 and technical analysis and a commitment to achieving conservation and other least-cost 

 energy. 



Bonneville's overriding weaknesses are those of any large organization: decision-making 

 is slow and rules, regulations, and procurement policies are barriers to results. Further, 

 Bonneville fundamentally sees itself as a wholesale supplier of electricity to its customer 

 utilities, where developing conservation and other cost-effective resources efficiently 

 requires a marketing and end-user orientation. 



Bonneville's weaknesses are reflected in a variety of ways. Among s^itur^ Rabem 

 them are an emphasis on either Bonneville programs or customer utility /«t~->. 



programs to achieve conservation and an emphasis on residential R^^^ k 



conservation. ^^^^ 



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