295 



Community College campus,under Seattle Gty Light's Energy Smart Design program, 

 where the annual energy savings are $78,000. 



Q. 5 Has the Northwest Power Planning Council adequately exercised its 

 responsibilities under the Act in the resource acquisition field? Please 

 describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Council's activities related to 

 resource acquisition. 



A 5 The Council's 1 991 Power Plan is a model comprehensive planning document 

 which sets forth a dear and decisive agenda for a regional commitment to integrated 

 resource planning In the Flan, the Council establishes conservation as our most 

 affordable and reliable resource and sets forth a very "do-able" goal for Bonneville and the 

 region's utilities of acquiring 1,500 aMW of conservation by the end of the decade In 

 addition, the Council has taking the lead in developing a standardized method tor 

 monitoring the interim process toward achieving the goal 



We believe there is stM room for the CouncH to take more of a leadership role In the 

 region 's separate ratemaking and policy making venues, the CouncH could take a more 

 proactive and strategic approach to assure that aB are focused on the same goal of 

 accelerating conservation acquisition levels. 



Overall the Council has effectively exercised its authority under the Act with reg^trd to 

 providing leadership in resource planning tor the region. The Council's responsibilities 

 beyond that, with the possible exception of its authority under Section 6(c), is very 

 limited with regard to actual resource acquisition process 



Q. 6 Has BPA adequately accounted for the environmental externalities 

 associated with various energy sources in its resource acquisition process? If 

 not, what specific issues should BPA revisit? 



A. 6. Under the Northwest Power Act, BPA is required to include quantifiable 

 environmental extemalities in determining a resource's total system cost for planning 

 and acquisition The 1992 Resource Plan is the first to incorporate the values the agency 

 has determined apply to quantifiable indirect costs. Monetary values have been 

 quantified for at emissions that are regulated by EPA and for the land and wateruse 

 costs associated with resource operation 



We feel that the costs that BPA has explicitly incorporated into resource costs are 

 adequately accounted for, with the exception ofCOZ The agency made a decision two 

 years ago not to recognize carbon dioxide as a 'quantiHable" extemality. While C02 

 emissions are not yet regulated their contribution to the global warming threat is 

 recognized. Simply replacing one 60 watt bulb with a new 15 watt high-efficiency lamp 

 saves the environment 400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. 



