Sara Patton, NW Energy Coalition

Bonneville Hearing on Regional Dialogue

September 9, 2004

(Sara’s previous testimony)

This is the fifth hearing to gather input from the community on the Bonneville Power Administration’s far-reaching proposal to shift responsibility for acquisition of new resources to its customer utilities.  Representatives of the NW Energy Coalition have attended all the meetings so far, and we will be in Kalispell next week. I spoke at the Seattle hearing so I will not repeat that testimony. Here is a snapshot of what we have heard:

Energy Efficiency

The praise has been loud and clear for Bonneville’s commitment to support the acquisition of all cost-effective energy conservation identified by the Power Council. 

In fact, many environmental, consumer, labor and business interests called on Bonneville to go beyond its “share” and help the region capture all the energy savings available in the region.

We heard compelling testimony from both recipients and deliverers of energy efficiency investments that revealed the magnitude of the benefits of energy-saving measures – projects that put more money into schoolbooks and cancer labs and family-supporting paychecks. All these projects were made possible through collaboration between Bonneville and its customer utilities.

At the Seattle hearing, I heard a Washington Trade and Convention Center representative talk about the $187,000 savings per year on his utility bill. The savings allowed the Convention Center to avoid rate increases of its own and thus compete successfully for convention business with Kansas City, among others.

A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research facility representative told you that the $1 million per year in electricity bill savings from Bonneville investment via Seattle City Light means $1 million more per year for cancer research.

The McKinstry Company, a mechanical construction and engineering firm that does business around the region, sent a representative who said that $30 million in energy efficiency projects have kept 50 professional engineers working at his company year after year. Furthermore, he estimated that those same projects have kept 200 to 300 additional trade allies working as well.

The stories presented by these private and public institutions and energy efficiency businesses made it clear that Bonneville energy efficiency funding must continue and even increase.

We commend Bonneville for opening up the discussion of achieving regional energy efficiency goals. At the Seattle hearing, we asked to participate in the translation of the positive principles Bonneville has proposed into the policies that will guide implementation. We commend Bonneville for moving quickly to establish a process to bring utility, public interest, state agency and other expertise into this task. We look forward to a positive outcome from this new collaborative process.

Low-Income Weatherization

Low-income advocates in Washington and Oregon praised Bonneville’s support for low-income weatherization programs. They urged Bonneville to make a firm financial commitment and continue to help leverage all the dollars necessary to make sure it doesn’t take 100 years to weatherize all the eligible homes in the region. The Coalition and others suggest a 20-year goal, even though that cannot be considered ambitious.

Renewables

You heard from environmental activists, steelworkers and other labor leaders about the importance of expanding the region’s investment in renewable energy resources. Steelworkers in particular are excited by the new job opportunities and the economic development potential in areas where their workers have lost jobs in other industries. 

Speakers highlighted the value of diversifying Bonneville’s supply base and reducing the drought and fuel price risks posed by hydropower and fossil fuel generation. They challenged Bonneville’s claim that new resource development can proceed effectively when placed solely in the hands of its customer utilities. Speakers called on Bonneville to use its economies of scale, financial depth and regionwide scope to actually get new facilities up and running – as it did with the highly successful Stateline wind project. 

Salmon Protection

Speakers at every hearing so far have challenged Bonneville to improve its record on salmon recovery. They pointed out in Boise, Spokane and Seattle that the status quo is insufficient and that the summer battle over spill has made the need for positive action even more critical.  

Every speaker who talked about salmon protection highlighted the important roles energy efficiency and renewable energy play in taking pressure off the river and making it easier for Bonneville to meet its salmon restoration obligations. Turning over load growth to utilities should not be an excuse to limit energy efficiency and renewables investments, which do as much to protect salmon protection as to supply new power.

Thank you again for hosting this process and seeking such broad public input. As I said in Seattle, we appreciate many of the bold, forward steps Bonneville has proposed in the Regional Dialogue draft. The Coalition and others have noted the areas that need improvement or clarification. As you sit down to consider all the public input, please keep the protection of Northwest electric consumers uppermost in your minds. If you do, I believe you will have to acknowledge the importance to all of us in investing in a clean energy future.

Thank you again.