Northwest Energy Review Transition Board	John Etchart, Montana
851 S.W. Sixth Avenue, Suite 1100 Portland, Oregon 97204-1348	Roy Hemmingway, Oregon
Phone 503-222-5161 or 1-800-452-5161 FAX 503-795-3370	Mike Kreidler, Washington
	Todd Maddock, Idaho

Transition Board Transmission Work Group

Meeting 19
March 10, 1998

Al Wright chaired the meeting of the Transmission Work Group at the Northwest Power Planning Council’s offices in Portland. About 25 people attended the meeting.

The meeting began with a description, by Al and Dick Watson, of a proposed work plan of the Transition Board for the next 4 months. The work is intended to result in recommendations from the region’s governors on the "Northwest chapter" of national utility restructuring legislation. There are many indications that Congress will take up restructuring in the next few months. While it’s far from certain that legislation on the subject will be passed and signed by the president in that period, it is possible. Accordingly, the Transition Board is planning to provide a "progress report" to the Northwest congressional delegation before the end of April, and a set of recommendations by July 1.

The group spent most of the meeting discussing FERC regulation of Bonneville. Representatives of the Public Power Council presented the legislative language of their proposal, and responded to a number of clarifying questions. The group also discussed a draft proposal by staff of the Northwest congressional delegation.

The general feeling was that these proposals, along with the proposals already discussed from the investor-owned utilities, the representatives of environmental and public purposes organizations, and the Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities (ICNU), indicate potential for agreement on a number of the issues. The group agreed to the formation of a smaller group to attempt to identify consensus on those issues, to be reported and discussed at the work group’s next meeting on March 17 (1:30 – 4:00 p.m. at the Council’s offices).