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PANEL CONSISTING OF WILLIAM K. DRUMMOND, MANAGER, 

 PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL; RALPH CAVANAGH, ATTORNEY, 

 NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL; JAMES R. 

 SHERRILL, MANAGER, PARKLAND LIGHT & WATER CO., ON 

 BEHALF OF WESTERN PUBLIC AGENCIES GROUP; LORRAINE 

 BODI, CO-DIRECTOR, NORTHWEST REGIONAL OFFICE, 

 AMERICAN RIVERS, INC.; STEPHEN F. JOHNSON, EXECUTIVE 

 DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICTS ASSO- 

 CIATION; JIM P. RAMSEYER, GENERAL MANAGER, BLACHLY- 

 LANE COOPERATIVE ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, ON BEHALF 

 OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST GENERATING COOPERATIVE; AND 

 SARA PATTON, COALITION DIRECTOR, NORTHWEST CON- 

 SERVATION ACT COALITION 



STATEMENT OF WILLIAM K. DRUMMOND 



Mr. DRUMMOND. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the 

 task force. 



My name is Bill Drummond. I am manager of the Public Power 

 Council, an association of 114 publicly and cooperatively owned 

 electric utilities in the Northwest. 



Although PPC represents a diverse membership, there is a com- 

 mon goal amongst all the members of PPC that bring us together: 

 The long-term viability of the Bonneville Power Administration. In 

 Bonneville's strength lies our strength. We believe by attaining 

 government corporation status for Bonneville, we will build on that 

 mutual strength. 



Repayment acceleration has been with us for many years. Since 

 the early 1980s we have, with the help of the Northwest delega- 

 tion, successfully fought off these initiatives. If carried out, these 

 proposals would lead to rate increases of 25 percent or more and 

 would have seriously harmed the Northwest economy. Each time 

 we have relied on the strength of the Northwest delegation to turn 

 back those who are out simply to extract more money from our re- 

 gion based upon ideology. 



The repayment acceleration proposal itself — let me turn to that 

 for just a minute. PPC has been the lead organization for Bonne- 

 ville's customers studying this issue now for over three years. 



The members of PPC see significant value in removing the uncer- 

 tainty of repayment acceleration, providing that certain conditions 

 are met. Those conditions include rate neutrality, a long-term solu- 

 tion, not one that is simply short term. We believe that any legisla- 

 tion must be limited to this issue, and it must be consistent with 

 Bonneville's existing organic statutes. 



We believe that public and regional preference must be main- 

 tained. And we also believe the level of customer influence should 

 be maintained, that is, the current level of customer influence. 



Finally, the concerns of the other Power Marketing Administra- 

 tion customers from around the rest of the country need to be con- 

 sidered as well. 



I commend the members of the Northwest delegation for securing 

 a proposal that is consistent with our principles. As I understand 

 the proposal, it would basically provide for refinancing of Bonne- 

 ville's existing appropriated debt by giving Bonneville access to 

 Wall Street. The benefits include a lump-sum payment to Treasury, 



