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PANEL CONSISTING OF RALPH CAVANAGH, SENIOR ATTOR 

 NEY, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, SAN FRAN 

 CISCO, CA; K.C. GOLDEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTH 

 WEST CONSERVATION ACT COALITION; JOHN D. CARR, EX 

 ECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIRECT SERVICE INDUSTRIES, INC.; 

 AND KENNETH CANON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDUSTRIAL 

 CUSTOMERS OF NORTHWEST UTILITIES 



Mr. DeFazio. We're back in session with panel two and well 

 start with Ralph Cavanagh, Senior Attorney, NRDC, from that 

 place to the south of us with which we sometimes seasonally ex- 

 change power. Mr. Cavanagh. 



STATEMENT OF RALPH CAVANAGH 



Mr. Cavanagh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, although, of course, 

 I'm here on behalf of NRDC's more than 8,000 Northwest members. 

 What I would want to say at the outset is that after 14 years of 

 involvement in these issues, I'm left with strong optimism that the 

 Pacific Northwest can lead the Nation and the world in the transi- 

 tion to a sustainable energy future that's based on energy efficiency 

 and renewable resources. 



We have a long way to go, but with the leadership and assistance 

 of this task force, we're going to solve these problems and we're 

 going to do it right here in the region, emphatically, without the 

 assistance of the Federal Judiciary. 



We're going to succeed because there is a remarkably broad con- 

 sensus on the appropriate direction of regional energy policy and 

 the decision rules for getting there. At least equally important is 

 the mutual respect and sense of common purpose that character- 

 izes most of the participants. 



In any other region of the United States, this panel would rep- 

 resent the rhetorical equivalent of a two-on-two tag team match. 

 We're going to be lively, but we're going to do better than that; in 

 part, because we're all acutely aware that we need each other and 

 the institutions that precede and follow us in order to build that 

 sustainable energy future that I spoke of. 



Now, Mr. Chairman, in talking about BPA resource acquisition, 

 today is going to be, in large measure, a htany of complaints about 

 the Bonneville Power Administration. That is the Northwest's fa- 

 vorite non contact sport, as you know. And all that I want to em- 

 phasize at the outset is that although I won't resist the temptation 

 altogether to join in, none of this, none of what you hear today 

 should change your answer to a very fundamental question about 

 the role of BPA that is posed by any discussion of resource acquisi- 

 tion. 



That is the question of whether Bonneville should be restricted 

 to marketing a specified supply of inexpensive power from Federal 

 hydroelectric faciUties, whether Bonneville should be a broker of 

 cheap commodities, pure and simple, or whether Bonneville can 

 serve as a catalyst for a least-cost regional energy future by taking 

 the lead role in securing the best mix of conservation and generat- 

 ing resources for a Pacific Northwest region that has outgrown its 

 hydropower base. 



Mr. Chairman, we tried the commodity broker model in this re- 

 gion for 40 years, and in 1980, we made the decision to graduate 



