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BULLETIN is a publication providing access to information on the 1996 Comprehensive Review of the Northwest Energy System.
(1) BULLETIN ADVISORY :: The next Steering Committee Meeting is scheduled for July 30, 31 at the Airport Sheraton in Portland. In August, a "marathon" meeting at the Airport Sheraton begins on Monday the 19th at 1 p.m. and continues through the afternoon of Thursday the 22nd.
(2) STRAWMAN: The meeting summarized below voted to have drafted a "Strawman" NW electricity system description to be used in subsequent deliberative meetings. When the Strawman document has been released, it will be available on this site.
(3) SUMMARY of July 17-18 Steering Committee meeting at the Airport Sheraton in Portland. The Comprehensive Energy Review steering committee agreed on lists of "consensus" and "non-consensus" issues drawn from the July 11 work group reports, and the committee debated who should develop a "strawman" for a restructured Northwest electricity system. Council staff, the governors' reps, and consultant Al Wright were chosen. Committee members Bill Drummond and Bob Gannon were absent. The audience was about 40.
Next Meeting: July 30-31 in Portland. Consultation with the tribes and a look at the strawman.
OPENING REMARKS -- "We need to find middle ground, and we need to find it everywhere," said steering committee chair Chuck Collins. The committee has two lists to agree on: a set of consensus items and a set of non-consensus items, he explained.
REACHING CONSENSUS ON THE CONSENSUS -- The committee agreed to numerous consensus items for federal power marketing, starting with endorsement of "a continued federal presence in federal power marketing, although not necessarily BPA as we know it." The committee concurred that the federal power marketing entity must be designed to fulfill BPA's financial obligations, including public purposes, and that the security and tax-exempt status of third-party bonds must be maintained. The committee did not find consensus on items dealing with BPA's ability to sell directly to new retail loads or stranded investment protection.
"An independent grid operator (IGO) or equivalent should be formed" was the first item the committee endorsed on the transmission consensus list. As for competition and customer choice, the committee could not agree that there was consensus on such issues as "retail choice for all consumers, as quickly as is practical"; "separation of regulated and unregulated portions of businesses"; and the "recovery of legitimate, non-mitigable stranded investment."
The committee agreed the consensus list should retain: a voluntary mechanism for carrying out conservation market transformation activities; renewables RD&D within current budget levels; green power marketing; and non-discriminatory access to transmission for power from renewables.
CAN WE AGREE ON THE NON-CONSENSUS? -- All of the items on the draft non-consensus list for federal power marketing remained after lively discussion of such topics as: river governance and its relationship to customer budget authority over power marketing; whether BPA can sell directly to new retail loads; and preference status for the residential and small-farm customers of IOUs. A new item, "Should there be an allocation of BPA power?" was added to the list.
In addition to the date for achieving choice for all consumers, the committee added two items to the non-consensus list for customer choice: "open access being available to all customers simultaneously" and "whether existing providers have an obligation to serve, and if not, who does?" Relationship of BPA to the IGO, IGO governance, and appropriateness of a transmission charge to raise revenues for non-transmission purposes were listed as non-consensus transmission items.
Several items dealing with conservation and renewables, such as long-term funding, ways to capture conservation at the local level, responsibility for low-income weatherization, and support for a minimum rate of new renewables projects were judged to be appropriately placed on the non-consensus list.
WHO CAN HELP BUILD THE STRAWMAN? -- The choices Collins suggested for developing a strawman were: asking the governors' reps to propose one; asking the work group co-chairs; or asking Council staff, along with consultant Al Wright. After a lengthy debate and a close vote in favor of Wright and Council staff, more discussion ensued, and the committee decided to have governors' reps develop the strawman, with assistance from staff and Wright.
A detailed account of the Steering Committee meeting may be accessed in the Review Document Access section.
(4) FORUM DOCUMENTS :: documents circulated at the July 12 Forum.
(5) DOCUMENT ACCESS :: All general documents associated with the Comprehensive Review are available in full text at this website on the Review Document Access page, which is organized by month. If you are reading Bulletin in hard copy and want World Wide Web access, the URL is http://newsdata.com/enernet/review/bulletin.html.
For hard copies of this and other Review documents, contact the Northwest Power Planning Council in Portland at 800/222-3355 and ask for Public Affairs.
(6) FEEDBACK :: You may comment generally on the Review, or specifically on review documents, by sending an e-mail to feedback@newsdata.com. The comment will be e-mailed to the Review website and will become part of the official record. For fax and mail comments, fax Comprehensive Review, 503/795-3370 or write to Comprehensive Review, Northwest Power Planning Council, 851 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97204-1348.
BULLETIN is published online and off by Energy NewsData with staff cooperation and funding support from the Northwest Power Planning Council and the Review itself. Reports on meetings are prepared by Resource Writers Inc.
Please contact feedback@newsdata.com if you have questions or comments
about this website or call Whitney Dickinson at 206/285-4848.
Last modified: July 24, 1996
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