palities to help reduce capital program costs and delay the time 

 when Bonneville reaches the federal debt limit ceilings. 



As I mentioned earlier, we have just seen the draft of Bonne- 

 ville's proposal to become a government corporation. Most of our 

 comments are based on the same brief outline that was provided 

 for you and the customer groups last month. 



The Council supports greater administrative efficiency and flexi- 

 bility at Bonneville. We think that Bonneville becomes leaner and 

 more responsive to its customers. It will also be better able to meet 

 its other obligations under the Northwest Power Act. 



Bonneville makes a good argument that it needs greater flexibil- 

 ity and accountability in the areas of personnel, contracting and 

 procurement. We are advised that the administration and that the 

 National Performance Review will address some specific personnel 

 and contracting issues. 



We need to move aggressively to administratively remove unnec- 

 essary barriers which impede Bonneville's efficiency. And we stand 

 ready to help in any way we can. 



Not having a lot of details, I must add that the Council is not 

 sure that changing Bonneville to a government corporation is nec- 

 essary to achieve most of these efficiency goals. We hope exploring 

 the concept of incorporation will not detract from the urgency of be- 

 coming more efficient and less bureaucratic. 



As we learn more about Bonneville's plans for incorporation, we 

 have several basic concerns. The Council wants to ensure that Bon- 

 neville's mission continues to include the goals of the Northwest 

 Power Act, which include regional input into the decision-making 

 process, and gives the States and the public a check and balance 

 on energy decisions in the Northwest. We think the current level 

 of regional accountability and congressional oversight is essential 

 in any new Bonneville structure. 



We want to be sure that congressional and regional oversight of 

 Bonneville's Administrator are not changed by his appointment by 

 the President for a fixed term. Bonneville officials are quick to 

 point out that with incorporation their relationships with Congress 

 and States and the Council will remain the same, and in their out- 

 line proposal, however, they fail to delineate the role of the States 

 and the Council in any meaningful way. 



The Council believes any legislation to create a Bonneville cor- 

 poration should be carefully developed and fully debated in the re- 

 gion, and to this end the Council is working with the offices of the 

 four Northwest governors to identify the implications of Bonneville 

 as a government corporation. 



The governors will be meeting on the 16th of November with this 

 as one of the agenda items. We will of course keep Congress in- 

 formed of our work. 



Again, Mr. Chairman, and task force members, I want to thank 

 you for the time and attention you have given to this issue, and 

 the Council stands ready to assist in any way we can. 

 [Prepared statement of Mr. Bottiger follows:] 



