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INDUSTRIAL 

 CUSTOMERS OF 

 NORTHWEST 

 UTILITIES 



KEN CANON 



EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Testimony of 



Ken Canon, Executive Director 



Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities 



before the 



Committee on Natural Resources 



Bonneville Power Administration Task Force 



Portland, Oregon 

 July 12, 1993 



Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities is an 

 association of Northwest industries who purchase electricity from 

 the region's investor-owned and publicly-owned utilities. ICNU's 

 24 members are in the pulp and paper, chemical, electronic, 

 metals, aerospace, wood products, and cement industries. ICNU 

 was established shortly after the passage of the 1980 Regional 

 Power Act to represent these industries on regional electrical 

 issues before the Power Planning Council, the Bonneville Power 

 Administration and with individual utilities. 



THE REGION THEN, VERSUS THE REGION NOW 



Many changes have taken place in the 13 years since the 

 passage of the Regional Power Act in 1980. The region has 

 endured significant price hikes for electricity, been through the 

 travails of an over commitment to large central station thermal 

 plants, has made a commitment to addressing the weak wild salmon 

 runs in the Columbia River system, has seen natural gas 

 deregulated with dramatic reductions in price and increases in 

 availability, has witnessed the beginnings of greater 

 transmission access, and the continued development of new 

 resources. 



Other changes have also occurred, but these changes are not 

 limited to the utility industry. They are a part of a larger 

 effort of businesses to be leaner and more competitive. Focusing 

 on core competency, total quality and customer satisfaction are 

 all part of an effort to remain competitive. 



The combination of these changes results in a different set 

 of challenges. BPA is no longer in the position of being the 

 only entity that can accommodate large thermal plant acquisition 

 by melding the higher new resource costs with abundant, low cost 

 hydro power. Hydro power is not as abundant and now carries with 

 it considerable long term price uncertainty. With smaller, more 

 diverse and cost effective resources available to the region's 

 utilities, some utilities are seeking to become more competitive 



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