Impacts and Implications of the Pacific Northwest Power Bill

The impacts and implications of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act were examined. The act would change the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) from a marketer of federal hydropower to a regional utility with broad responsibilities for assuring adequate power supplies in the Pacific Northwest. The three areas of impact examined were: (1) whether the proposed legislation would expose regional power consumers to more rate increases from construction cost overruns on non-federal power plants backed by the BPA; (2) what impact the passage or failure of the legislation would have on BPA direct service industrial customers; and (3) whether the legislation would have a significant effect on runs of anadromous salmon and steelhead trout in the Columbia River system.