241 



My experience also includes a role as a project manager for the attempted development of a 

 Hydro-Electric project known as the Eagle Rock Project on the Snake River. The project was 

 ultimately terminated due to the lack of need or the ability to sell the output. 



I presently serve as President of the Idaho Cooperative Utilities Association (ICUA) which rep- 

 resents more than 150,000 electrical consumers served by 13 cooperatives in Idaho, which are 

 full requirement customers of BPA. 



Possibly, the most significant and important role I have played and continue to play is the rep- 

 resentative of the ratepayers and citizens of Idaho. Again, I trust in your consideration and 

 recognition of those who are actually paying the bills when evaluating this and other testimony 

 you receive on this issue. 



1 . Since passage of the Regional Act, BPA has clearly pursued an aggressive path on con- 

 servation and generation resource development. Whether or not BPA has succeeded in 

 its efforts or is on the right track is a subject that will continue to be debated. 



We believe the main problem with BPA's acquisition programs is that they are yielding 

 results that are too often not cost-effective. In the case of conservation, BPA's spend- 

 ing has been excessive. It is a fact that BPA spends almost twice as much per KWH on 

 conser^'ation than some of the region's large utilities that run comparable programs. 

 BPA's own data shows that BPA has acquired substantial conservation that is not cost- 

 effective compared to other resource alternatives. Some of this conservation has cost in 

 the range of 36-93 mills/kwh in 1990 levelized dollars and does not include all of the 

 costs, specifically the local utilities. 



Several factors have contributed to this problem. First, BPA has paid far too much for 

 incentives compared with what it would actually take to move the market. Secondly, 

 BPA has funded too many measures which are not cost-effective at the margin. Third, 

 BPA and the Council have tended to significantly overstate the kwh savings of conserva- 

 tion measures when measured against actual results. Fourth, BPA's programs have en- 

 tailed high administrative costs. Finally, BPA's programs have become too centralized 

 and inflexible, despite efforts to delegate more authority and discretion to the areas. 

 BPA has a bewildering array of programs each of which may involve any number of 

 professional specialists within BPA. Trying to get a decision from BPA on a fairly 

 simple program proposal can take considerable time, even into years. 



