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Due to today's relatively low interest rates, however, there appears to be a 

 window of opportunity to refinance or buy out some of BonnevQle's existing 

 appropriated investment. If designed properly, the refinancing and restructuring 

 proposal could remove the old arguments used to advance repayment reform by 

 refinancing the debt at cturent market rates. Ihis could help overcome the 

 charges of regional interest subsidies and provide a long-term solution to the 

 annual battles over repayment reform. It could remove a major source of 

 imcertainty which has been plaguing the region for the last decade. 



We have not seen any pending legislation on this topic, although we 

 understand a bill could be introduced in this session as part of a rescission 

 package being developed by the Administration. Any restructuring of Bonneville's 

 multi-billion dollar debt is of great inqxntance to the entire region. Any such plan 

 should be presented for public scrutiny and comment. 



Any debt restructuring proposal needs to include the following basic principles. 

 We need anqile assurances that emy debt restructuring would not overburden the 

 ratepayers of the Northwest We need to analyze any proposal to assure that 

 restructuring is not a scheme to push higher debt on future generations, thereby 

 increeising rates in the long term. Any restructiuing should provide a permanent 

 solution to the historical uncertainties associated with this issue. The repayment 

 period for the debt should not exceed the useful life of the c£^ital investments. 



NEW BORROWINO AUTHORITT 



In January of this year, after two years of effort, Bonneville released its 

 financial plan which is designed to address long-term financial issues, and to 

 develop strategies to enhance Bonneville's competitiveness. Within each two-year 



