Thank you Mr Chairman, members of the Task Force. My name is Sara Patton 

 and on November 8 I will be the new Ccaliticn Director of the Northwest Conservation 

 Act Coalition. K.C. QoWen who has appeared before you on behaK of the Coalition 

 will be the new Coalition Policy Director. The Coalition is an alliance of over sixty 

 public interest organizatiorts, utilities, agencies and businesses from ail four Northwest 

 States and Britsh Columbia. The constituency we represent is large and diverse, tt 

 includes the League of Women Voters; organizations such as the Spokane 

 Neighborhood Action Programs that advocate for low-income dtizans; local, state, and 

 national environmental groups; research organizations; consumer advocates; and 

 public utilities including the Saiem Electric Cooperative, the Eugene Water and 

 Electric Board, Emerald People's Utility District and the City of Ashland. 



As K.C. Golden has testified in earlier hearings of this task force, this diverse 

 constituency is united by its dedication to the faithful and expeditious implementation 

 of the Northwest Conservation Act of 1 980. Our goals are laid out in the Act's 

 purposes (paraphrased here): 



To encourage conservation and efficiency in the use of electric power; 



To encourage the development of renewable resources within the Pacific 

 Northwest; 



To assure adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable energy services: 



To make the public and its state and local and tribal governments full partners in 

 buikjing a regional energy future that emphasizes conservation, renewable 

 resources, and environmental protection; 



To distribute the costs and benefits of the regional power system fairly; and 



To protect, mitigate, and enhance the fish and wiUlife resources of the 

 Columbia River Basin. 



The immediate question is whether the proposal to change Bonneville's status 

 from federal agency to government corporation will serve these goals or not. The 

 Coalition Board adopted the following resolution on this subject at its October 24, 1993 

 meeting: 



Resolved, that NCAC supports the efficiency of BPA 

 operations. Unless and until NCAC receives further 

 assurances that corporatization will enhance achievement 

 of the conservation and fish and wildlife provisions of the 

 Act, and will not relieve BPA of any of its responsibilities 

 under the Act. NEPA or other federal environmental laws 

 and open government laws, NCAC opposes 

 corporatization. 



