Pieces of the Puzzle

Pieces

Goals/Products

Necessary Components

    Dependencies

Cost Control

Bonneville able to meet or beat market prices; eliminate or at least minimize transition costs
  • Specific cost reduction recommendations for meeting a range of market conditions
  • Accountabilities for implementation

Fish and Wildlife MOA

Establish Bonneville’s fish and wildlife obligations for the 2001 – 2006 time frame
  • Capital costs
  • River operations
  • Annual revenue requirement
  • Accountability

Transition Cost Recovery

Contingent mechanism for allocating costs that Bonneville cannot otherwise recover among customers, Treasury and means of recovering customers’ share

Principles<-->Options<-->Proposal

  • How transition costs determined and by whom
  • Allocation between customers and treasury, among customers
  • How recovered
  • Cost control
  • Fish & Wildlife MOA
  • River Governance

Subscription

Bonneville power products fully contracted for at least the 2001-2006 period
  • Product/service definition: simple vs. complex (e.g., building blocks vs. tailored)
  • Business relationship definition: umbrella contract vs. no overarching relationship (e.g., specific definition of ongoing relationship vs. definition in current law only), one vs. several types
  • Price
  • Contracts: product, business relationship, terms & conditions, risk allocation, price
  • Cost control – affect price, customer confidence
  • F&W MOA – affect price, risk
  • Transition cost recovery obligations – define exposure for customers; Treasury; Necessary part of legislative package.
  • River governance – affects perception of long term financial risk
Transmission Separation
  • A transmission system that facilitates an efficient, reliable competitive electricity market
  • Maintain Bonneville’s ability to meet its financial obligations for third party debt, fish and wildlife and treasury
  • Legislation or administrative changes to legally separate Bonneville’s transmission and power marketing activities into distinct entities
    • Alternative forms of structure and governance?
  • Regulation of Bonneville’s transmission by FERC under standards equivalent to those used to regulate investor-owned utilities
    • Where is it appropriate for FERC regulation of Bonneville to differ from its regulation of IOUs?
    • Impacts of FERC regulation of Bonneville on different groups of customers?
  • Legislation to permit Bonneville participation in independent grid operator
    • Impacts on Bonneville’s current transmission customers
  • Transition cost recovery – provide assurance to third parties creditors, Treasury
River Governance Establish how and by whom decisions about future river operations and system configuration are to be made
  • Representation
  • Authority