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limitations on personnel actions and contracting practices. And it would reduce oversight of 

 Bonneville's activities by both the executive and legislative branches. 



The purpose of such a change in Bonneville's status would be to grant it the freedom to 

 become more streamlined and efficient, to act more promptly, and to respond more effectively to 

 its customers' needs. If this freedom were used by Bonneville for such purposes, it would be of 

 substantial benefit to customers, such as the Western Public Agencies Group, which rely on 

 Bonneville for their power supply. Given the pace at which change is occurring in the electric 

 utility industry, a more flexible and responsive Bonneville is a necessity. 



While a shift in status to a government corporation has the potential of substantial 

 benefits, it also poses serious risks to customers. By virtue of its size and statutory authority, 

 Bonneville exercises virtual monopoly power in a variety of areas, including bulk power supply, 

 high- voltage transmission, generation services and product pricing. 



Currently, the exercise of this monopoly power is constrained by executive, legislative 

 and regulatory oversight. Removing or reducing this oversight, by changing Bonneville into a 

 government corporation, could have the effect of converting Bonneville into an essentially 

 unregulated and unsupervised monopoly. This would be a very detrimental development for 

 Bonneville's customers. 



If the current institutional constraints are removed from Bonneville, they must be 

 replaced with viable market forces. This can be accomplished by ensuring that Bonuneville's 

 customers are given meaningfiil freedom of choice. Otherwise, it would be unlikely that 

 Bonneville's customers would ever realize the potential benefits of any change in Bonneville's 

 status. 



The Western Public Agencies Group is more interested in results than the particular form 

 used to achieve them. As Bonneville customers, we need a Bonneville that has specific, limited 

 powers and duties, that is focused on its primary task of serving its customers, that can act 

 promptly in response to its customers and market forces, that can executive contracts in a 

 businesslike manner, and that can hire and fire on the basis of merit. 



