Council adopts standard to ensure future energy supplies for the Northwest

May 10, 2006

WALLA WALLA — Today the Council adopted a regional standard to ensure an adequate energy supply for the Pacific Northwest. This is the first formally adopted energy standard in the region's history.

In developing the standard, the Council and the Bonneville Power Administration established the Pacific Northwest Resource Adequacy Forum, a group that involved representatives from regional utilities, public utility commissions, and public interest groups. The Council adopted the standard for its own power planning process and is recommending that utilities and public entities in the region incorporate it into their planning efforts. This new regional standard is expected to be incorporated into the west-wide electricity reliability assessments, as required by Congress in recently enacted national energy legislation. 

"The standard will raise a red flag to alert the region when we are at risk of running short of electricity," said Council Chair Tom Karier. "If such a standard had been in place in the mid-1990s, we would have had time to avert the 2000-2001 energy crisis." If the standard is applied to the current electricity supply situation, it indicates there is little chance of an electricity shortage for the rest of this decade. 

The Western energy crisis of 2000-2001 led to both rolling blackouts in California and unprecedented electricity price spikes in the western United States and Canada. During the crisis, the Northwest experienced its second-lowest water year. Also, few new resources were developed during the late 1990s, leading to areas of resource deficiency throughout the West. Combined with a flawed electricity market design in California and apparent market manipulation, these factors led to the undesirable events of 2000-2001. The Northwest is still recovering from the economic recession following that crisis. 

The standard, which is based on sophisticated statistical analysis, is also a familiar and easily understood measure that assesses the balance between the electricity needs of the region and available electricity supplies. 

The development of the standard meets one of the goals included in the Council's Fifth Power Plan, adopted in 2004. "This is another example of the unique role the Council plays in the region by providing the forum and expertise to address difficult regional challenges," said Vice Chair Joan Dukes. 

The Council is an agency of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and is directed by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to prepare a program to protect, mitigate and enhance the fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin affected by hydropower dams while also assuring the region an adequate, efficient, economical land reliable power supply.

Contacts:

• , Chair, 509-623-4386 
• , Power Division Director, 503-222-5161
• , Senior Power System Analyst, 503-222-5161
• , Director of Public Affairs, 503-222-5161

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