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■J. 'I .H I . I . ' Jl-^ 'W J.I II . ' lA ' JM 



PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT No. 1 



2320 California St., Everett, Washington 98201 (206) 258-821 1 

 Mailing Address: P. 0. Box 1107, Everett, Washington 98206 



Remarks of Matt Dillon 



Snohomish County PUD Commissioner 

 Before the Contmiittee on Natural Resources 

 Bonneville Power Administration Task Force 

 July 12, 1993 



Good afternoon, Congressman DeFazio, and distinguished members. My 

 name is Matt Dillon. I was first elected to the Snohomish County P.U.D. Board of 

 Commissioners in 1982. Snohomish is BPA's largest preference customer, we buy 

 80 percent of our power (about $120 million dollars a year) from Bormeville, and 

 generate 20 percent. We've been a BPA customer since 1949. 



Thank you for inviting me to testify today. It's been 13 years since Congress 

 passed the Northwest Power Act, and 1 applaud your decision to hold these hearings. 

 Your timing could not be better. 



I have come here today to tell you that BPA could help us more, by doing less. 

 Perhaps Saul Alinsky said it best, "Never do for others what they can do for 

 themselves. Never!" 



If Bonneville just had the right rate structure, it would not have to be in the 

 conservation business, it would not have to support the expense of staff and 

 programs; and the region would get far more conservation. Utilities and their 

 customers would have a clear choice: when their loads grow, they can pay an awful 

 lot for it or they can conserve what they have. And I can guarantee you, every 

 elected commissioner, like myself, will follow the least cost path. 



Two years ago, we proposed an ambitious conservation plan to BPA. We 

 called it a "Conservation Power Plant," or CPP. Our proposal was designed to 

 conserve resources : not just electricity, but natural gas and money, as well. CPP 

 was simple and easy to administer. But let me start with some hard facts. 



Even though the population in our service territory is increasing faster than 

 almost any other community in America, consumption per capita is declining, thanks 



