451 



lournal 



"Wliat's New and Flow to Get Involved" 



Bonneville 



POWER ADMINISTRATION 



BPA Announces 

 About 15 Percent 

 Rate Increase, 

 Cost Cuts And 

 Deferrals 



"IP Hears Of 



ew Marketing 

 Challenges 

 Facing Utility 

 Industry 



Task Force's 

 Patrol Vessel 

 Helps Deter 

 Salmon Poaching 



July 1993 



AJminiKtralur Randy Hardy announced on July 2 a proposed 15.7 percent rate Increase for 

 prcrcrcncc cusloincrs. Ulhcr key rales include a 14 percent inaeasc fur industrial aluminum 

 customers and a 1 3.4 percent excliangc rale increase. Tlic cxdiange is what ulllilies with 

 higlier sysleni costs — mostly |>rivaie utilities — pay to pass on UPA's clicaper power to ilwlr 

 residential and small farm customers. The numbers arc down dramatically from the 24 

 percent rate increa<»: DPA and lis utility customers predicted earlier this spring as a result of 

 some of Uic worst water conditina'; ever in tlie Noithwest The projected rales would be 

 effective Oct 1, and reflects an additional $286 million in cuts aiMj deferrals announced in 

 recent weeks. 



An announcement was also made on spccilic program cuts and defierrals. Reductions 

 include a 30 percent decrease in titc budscl for acquiring generating resources, a 28 percent 

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

 maintenance. FUh and wildlife budgeu will be cut 15 percent, and energy conservation will 

 decrease by 1 2 percent. Hardy noted that no cuts had hten made in measures directly 

 relaiod to weak wild fish runs and tliat the conservation cuts arc not expected to impair 

 DPA's ability to realize 660 megawatts of energy con.scrvalion witliln tills decade, a largd 

 set by tlK Nortliwcsl I'owcr I'lanning Council. Hsli program cuts include reductions in a 

 predator control program, law enforcement and hatcheries. 



nPA cusion\crs got a preview of llic changing face of tlic industry as rrograms in 

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

 Market." Utility 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 perhaps tlic strongest message wl)cn slie said utiUty managers, 

 including DPA, do not know what competition means, wlial It costs to provide a service or 

 what the customer wants. The key to survival In tlic new business cnvlromiicnl, slic addcJ, 

 is to tjuestion every premise. Also at the meeting. U.S. Rep. Peter DcFazlo, D-Ote, 

 reafllrmed his support of the Regional Power Act. but added tlial Congress liad been remiss 

 in its ovcisight of DPA. The agency mu.st achieve long-term financial stabllliy and make its 

 annual Ttea.sury payments, he added. Administrator Randy Hardy reiio-ated his goal to 

 make DPA more market-driven, cosl-consclous. rcsults-orlcntcd and customer-focused. A 

 s-umnuu'y of (lie day's proceedings will be available in print and video. (See back page.) 



Salmon poacliing on tlie Columbia River Just became a high-risk activity. The inter-agency 

 salmon law cnforccmcni task force siq^pcd up patrolling the river in June to protect 

 spawning and migraiing salmon. Working Iron) tlwiir mobile conmiand center - tlie 

 Wa-sliington Department of risheries' 17 meter (56-leci) ocean-going vessel G.H. Corliss - 

 tlie team coordinates aerial surveillance, boat patrols, ground patrols aix] covert operatioas. 

 This is tJie second year of a three-year DPA-fundcd program to enforce hahilat and harvest 

 lawrs to help depleted sockeye and chinook .<ulmon runs. (Sec June 1992 Journal.) 



As well as deterring poachers, highly visible law enforcement actlvliics lidp build public 

 awareness of the plight of the salmon. The patrol Iwai IcA Astoria June 16 arvd arrived in 

 Portland June 23. A news conference was held in Marine Park In Vancouver. Wash., June 

 24. Among the speakers were Rolland Schmltten, regional director of of the National 

 Marine Rslierics Scivicc; Ted Suong. executive director of tlie Columbia River Inter -Ttibal 

 Fish Commlsslou; and Jack kobcilsoii, UI'A Deputy AUiiiinistrator. The patrol will 

 continue to Kcdflsh I jikc in central Idaho — tlie spawning ground of the endangered Snake 

 River sockeye salmon. 



