< May 2005 Issue

Bonneville's Power Function Review underfunds energy conservation for 2007-2009 rate period

Bonneville's Power Function Review, which identified substantial cost reductions for the Fiscal Year 2007-2009 rate period, does not provide enough funding for the agency to achieve its share of the regional energy conservation targets established in the Council's Fifth Northwest Power Plan, according to comments on the review approved by the Council.

The draft Power Function Review closeout report (280k PDF), dated May 2, also does not include sufficient funding for the Regional Technical Forum, which the Council believes is critical to identifying cost-effective energy conservation measures for utilities to implement in the future in order to meet the targets in the Council's plan.

In its comments, the Council encourages Bonneville to fund conservation at a level more likely to reach its share of the regional target. In addition, the Council again requests, as it did in an April 26 letter to Bonneville regarding conservation funding, that Bonneville develop a contingency plan to assure acquisition of its share of conservation by 2009.

A Power Function Review letter will be available online in the next few weeks.