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region's load growth. The basis for this approach is the 

 belief that the Pacific Northwest is a real economic region 

 and that growth anywhere in the region ultimately ripples out 

 and benefits all our communities and citizens. A negative 

 example illustrates the continuing validity of this 

 assumption. As one of my colleagues at Grant County PUD 

 recently observed, "You can be sure that Seattle's loss of 

 20,000 Boeing jobs is going to be felt in Grant County." And 

 the reverse is also true. The creation of new jobs — in 

 Seattle or Ephrata or Pendleton or Coeur D'Alene — ultimately 

 strengthens the whole region's economy. 



More specifically, the Regional Act assumed that there were 

 specific benefits to coordinated regional development of 

 energy resources to support economic growth. The sharing of 

 costs and risks and the systematic development of the cheapest 

 resources — wherever located — to meet new demand for power 

 — wherever located — were perceived to have substantial 

 benefits to all utilities and their customers. 



In its 1991 Plan, The Council reaffirmed that conclusion. 

 They noted that BPA and investor-owned utilities were not 

 jointly developing resources and asked what would be the 

 financial benefit if such regional cooperation in resource 

 development were occurring. As they reported ("1991 Northwest 

 Conservation and Electric Power Plan;" Vol. II, Part II; p. 

 794): 



The Council performed a study to investigate the value of 

 regional cooperation. This study assumes that all 

 resource development can be coordinated through 

 Bonneville and that public utility conservation potential 

 and Bonneville's hydrofirming potential could be 

 developed earlier than would be justified by public 



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