399 



lournal 



"Wliat's New and How to Get Involved" 



Bonneville 



POWER ADMINISTRATION 



July 1993 



BPA Announces 

 About 15 Percent 

 Kate Increase, 

 Cost Cuts And 

 Deferrals 



PIP Hears Of 

 New Marketing 

 Cliallenees 

 Facing Utility 

 Industry 



Task Force's 

 Patrol Vessel 

 Helps Deter 

 Salmon Poaching 



Adniinislrator Randy Hardy announced on July 2 a proposal 15.7 percent rale Increase for 

 preference cus(oniers. Other key rates include a 14 percent inaeasc for industrial aluminum 

 customers and a 1 3.4 pciccnl exchange rate increase. Tlic cxdiange is wlial utiUUes with 

 higher systeni costs— mosUy private uullties— pay to pa.s.s on UFA'S cheaper power lo llielr 

 rcsldailial and small farm customers. The numbers iirc down dramatically from the 24 

 percent rate increa-se BPA and its utility customers predicted earlier this spiing as a result of 

 some of llic worst water conditi<ms ever in the Northwest. The projected rates woujd be 

 effective Oct 1, and reflects an addiUonal $286 iiullion In cuts and deferraJs announced in 

 recent weclcs. 



An announcement was also made on specific program cuts and deferrals. Reductions 

 include a 30 percent decrease in tlic budget for acquiring generaUng resources, a 28 percent 

 decrease for iransinission system development, and a 8 percent cut for transmission 

 maintenance. FLsh and wildlife budgeLi will Ix: cut I S pciccni. and ciicigy coiisci vation will 

 decease by 12 i.«rcciil. Hardy noted that no cms had been made in measures directly 

 related to weak wild fisli runs and that the conservation cuts arc not expected to impair 

 BPA's ability to realize 660 megawatts of energy conscrvaiion within this decade, a target 

 set by Uic NorUiwcst I'owcr Planning Council. Hsli program cuts include reductions in a 

 predator control program, law enforcement and haichcrlcs. 



BPA customers got a preview of Oie changing face of the industry as Programs in 

 Perspective got underway June 7 with a symposium on "Competing in Today's hnergy 

 Market." Uulity representatives and analysts agreed that big changes arc afoot in how 

 utilities conduct business in the new energy marketplace Wall .Street investment analyst 

 Judith Sack delivered pcrliaps tlic strongest message when she said uulity managers, 

 including DPA. do not know what competition means, what it costs to provide a service or 

 what the customer wants. The key to survival in ilic new business environment, eIk added 

 IS to qucsUon every [Temlse. Also at the mccUng. U.S. Rep. Peter DcFazlo. D-Ore, 

 reuffirmed his support of the Regional Power Act. but added that Congress liad been remiss 

 in its oversight of BPA. The agency mu.st achieve long-term Hnanclal stablllly and make its 

 annual Tfca.sury payments, he added. Administrator Randy Hardy reiterated his goal to 

 make BPA more market-driven, cost-conscious, rcsults-orientcd and customer-focused A 

 yumniary of tlie day's proc eedings will be available in print and video. (Sec back page.) 



Salmon poaching on tlie Columbia River just became a high-risk activity. The intcr-agcncy 

 salmon law cnforcctncnt task force stepped up pau^olling the river in June U) protect 

 spawning and migrating salmon. Working Iron) their mobile conmiand center - Ute 

 Waslungton Department of Fisheries' 17 meter (56-lecl) ocean-going vessel O.H, Corliss - 

 the team co<X(linatcs aerial surveillance, boat patrols, ground patrols and covert operaUon.s 

 This is the second year of a thrcc-ycar BPA-fundcd program to enforce habitat and harvest 

 laws to help depicted sockeye and Chinook salmon runs. (Sec June 1992 Journal.) 



As well as deterring poachers, highly visible law enforcement activities help build public 

 awareness of Uie plight of the salmon The patrol boat Icll Astoria June 16 and arrived in 

 1 oriland June 23. A news conference was held in Marine Park In Vancouver Wash June 

 24. Among the speakers were Rolland Schmlttcn, regional director of of the NaUonai' 

 Marine Fisheries Seivicc; Ted Su^ong, execuUve director ot ilie Columbia River Inter-TWbal 

 Ush Commlssioii; and Jack kobciuou, Ui'A Deputy Adininisffator The patrol will 

 conUnuc to Rodnsh Ukc in central Idalio— the spawning ground of the endangered Snake 

 River sockeye salmon. ■ co *, v^c>nu>,i. 



