Electric Co-op Today

For the first time since 2002, when it increased wholesale rates by 50 to 60 percent, the Bonneville Power Administration has announced a rate hike for Northwest utilities that use its hydropower, though some co-ops are questioning the size of the increase.

BPA said July 21 that it plans to increase power rates by about 7.5 percent, effective Oct. 1. Rates for customers that buy power and transmission will increase an average of 6 percent, the agency said.

The new wholesale power rates, which cover the agency’s fiscal years 2010 and 2011, amount to $28.77 per megawatt-hour, compared with the previous rate of $26.90 per megawatt hour.

“Nobody wants a rate increase, and we have worked very hard to keep the increase as low as possible,” BPA Administrator Steve Wright said in a statement. “We tightened our belt and worked with stakeholders to keep the increase to a minimum, while honoring our commitments to fish, wildlife and maintaining system reliability.”

Co-ops in the region said they will gauge the impact of the BPA announcement on rates for their members.

But most already had factored in some sort of boost by the agency, after an announcement earlier this year that it might hike rates by as much as 20 percent.

Benton REA, Prosser, Wash., does not plan to impose any increase on its members this year or next, according to Troy Berglund, who handles marketing and communications. In a statement, the co-op said it is committed to stable retail rates and conservative, frugal operations.

The co-op added that the 7.5 percent BPA increase is more than what is necessary, and questioned some of BPA’s self-described belt-tightening.

“However, there were no cuts made in current BPA program spending levels. The ‘cuts’ that BPA is referring to were reductions made to projected increases in budgets for future years, not reductions below current spending levels,” it said.

“Other ‘reductions’ are merely recognition that BPA has been unable to spend all of the moneys in the current budget for fish and wildlife programs, making the projected increases greatly in excess of program needs which would never be spent,” the co-op added.

BPA supplies more than one-third of the power in the Northwest from the nuclear plant and its network of 31 hydropower dams.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission still must sign off on the increase.

Tags: Bonneville Power Administration, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Hydroelectric Power, News Roundup, Power Rates