Portland, Ore. - The Bonneville Power Administration today
proposed a 9.6 percent average wholesale power rate increase to compensate for
reduced revenue expectations from surplus power sales and to continue funding
needed investments in the Federal Columbia River Power System.
BPA is also proposing a 13 percent increase in its
transmission rates mainly due to continued efforts to maintain system
reliability and meet increasing demands for transmission in the Pacific
Northwest. BPA initially managed these increasing costs without rate increases.
If adopted, it would be the first transmission rate increase in eight years.
In January of this year, BPA began a discussion with the
region about its proposed programs, future costs and potential rates for fiscal
years 2014 and 2015. At the outset of those discussions, BPA forecast that its
power rates could increase between 12 and 21 percent for those years.
Transmission rates were forecast to increase by approximately 12 percent.
“We are acutely aware of the economic impact of our rates
and have worked closely with the region to develop a plan that keeps rates as
low as possible while making needed investments in infrastructure,” said Steve
Wright, BPA administrator and chief executive officer. “We remain committed to
covering all our costs and providing timely repayment to the U.S. Treasury.”
The rate proposal will be considered during a public rate
setting process in the coming months, culminating in a July 2013 decision on
final rates to take effect Oct. 1, 2013. BPA is a nonprofit federal wholesale
utility that receives no Congressional appropriations and must recover its
costs through its rates. The new rates will affect retail utilities differently
depending on the amount of power and type of services they purchase from BPA.
Local utilities ultimately determine the retail impact of BPA rates on
individual businesses and residents.
Power Rates
Cost levels are not established in the rate case. Instead,
before issuing today’s initial rate proposals, BPA conducted a public process
called the Integrated Program Review. The Final IPR Close-Out Report (October
2012) projects power program cost increases that account for about 4 percent of
the proposed wholesale power rate increase.
The most significant contributing factor to the proposed
wholesale power rate increase is reduced revenue expectations from surplus
power sales. Market prices have been, and are forecast to continue to be,
suppressed primarily by low natural gas prices. Reduced net revenue from market
purchases and sales adds about 8 percent to the proposed rate increase. Another
1.6 percent increase is due to a variety of non-IPR cost increases.
To offset a portion of these increases, BPA has been able to
take advantage of unique opportunities that decrease capital-related costs for
the upcoming rate period. In particular, BPA was able to capture ratepayer
benefits in regard to fuel financing for Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating
Station, the region’s only nuclear power plant. This fuel purchase agreement,
the Depleted Uranium Enrichment Program, reduces costs by $22 million per year.
In addition, Energy Northwest and its governing boards also agreed to extend
the Columbia Generating Station bonds due in 2014 and 2015 and reduce the
annual contributions to the plant’s decommissioning fund due to a Nuclear
Regulatory Commission decision to extend the license for the plant for another
20 years. These actions resulted in an additional $95 million each year in cost
reductions during the rate period.
The combination of all these actions results in the proposed
9.6 percent increase.
Consistent with existing policy, the proposed power and
transmission rates are each set to provide a U.S. Treasury payment probability
of at least 95 percent over the two-year rate period. The Cost Recovery
Adjustment Clause is included in power rates as a proposed risk mitigation tool
that can address under-recovery by adjusting fiscal year 2014 or 2015 wholesale
power rates after the rate case concludes.
The proposed wholesale power rate would affect Northwest
consumer-owned utilities including public utility districts, tribal utilities,
cooperatives, municipalities and federal entities.
Transmission Rates
If adopted, this would be the first transmission rate
increase in eight years. A number of factors are leading to increased spending
and the proposed transmission rates:
- Construction of new lines and replacements to maintain reliability and facilitate the integration of renewable resources, such as wind, accounts for approximately 7 percent of the proposed transmission rate.
- Increased mandatory compliance requirements and additional cyber and physical security requirements and other operational and maintenance expenses account for approximately 6 percent of the proposed transmission rate.
Variable Energy Resource Balancing Service Rate
BPA’s rate to balance renewable resources, primarily wind
generation, is going down slightly. But, BPA’s rate also has built-in
flexibility to recover any additional costs that may be needed to keep the
system reliable as the wind fleet increases.
BPA holds a portion of the hydro system in reserve to move
up and down with wind and other renewable resources as their production varies
to ensure that the amount of power being produced matches the amount being
consumed to maintain system reliability.
Oversupply Rates
BPA has been actively pursuing new tools and strategies to
manage the occasional seasonal oversupply of electricity that comes from large
concentrations of renewable generation. As part of the oversupply (OS-14) rate
case that will be held at the same time as the power and transmission (BP-14)
rate case, BPA is proposing to collect 50 percent of the oversupply costs from
its power customers and 50 percent from the generators.
BPA is a nonprofit federal agency that markets renewable
hydropower from federal Columbia River dams, operates three-quarters of
high-voltage transmission lines in the Northwest and funds one of the largest
wildlife protection and restoration programs in the world. BPA and its partners
have also saved enough electricity through energy efficiency projects to power
four large American cities. For more information, contact us at 503-230-5131 or
visit our website at www.bpa.gov.
