Federal lawmakers reject overhaul of BPA

Proposal would have increased I.F. customers' electricity bills

By BEN BOTKIN
bbotkin@postregister.com

Federal lawmakers have rejected an overhaul of the Bonneville Power Administration that would have increased electricity bills for Idaho Falls residents.

The Bush administration had pushed the idea of forcing the BPA to sell electricity based on market prices instead of its production costs. For Idaho Falls Power, a BPA customer, the costs of buying electricity would have increased by 20 percent.

The Senate Budget Committee defeated the proposal last week with a bipartisan show of disapproval from senators who said it would hurt the Northwest's economy. The issue is not expected to make headway in the House of Representatives.

"I think it's considered to be probably doomed as it should be," said Mark Gendron, Idaho Falls Power administrator.

In Idaho Falls, residential electricity bills would have increased by $10 a month every year for the next several years.

"I'm glad to see that off the table," said Councilman Mike Lehto, chairman of the city's electric committee.

The Bush administration had said the proposal would allow wholesale electricity providers to be competitive with the BPA and three other federal power suppliers. It would have saved about $12.4 billion over 10 years.

Critics argued that the BPA covers its expenses and would simply be paying a tax disguised as higher electricity costs.

"The Northwest customers are paying their costs," Lehto said. "This would have been nothing more than a way to generate revenue for the federal government."

Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Larry Craig both lauded the Senate Budget Committee for rejecting the bill.

"I am pleased the Senate agrees that BPA is not in the business of funding the government," Craig said in a statement.

And the opposition extended outside Idaho.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called the proposal a "devastating, billion-dollar energy tax on the Northwest economy."

BPA spokesman Mike Hansen declined comment and referred questions to the Department of Energy, which oversees federal power suppliers.

DOE spokesman Joe Davis said the agency hopes to discuss the pricing structure change with Congress in the future.

"We believe we have a sensible proposal," he said.

But lawmakers had said the Northwest was still recovering from a recent energy crisis and a slow-moving economy. Signs of a recovery are evident in Idaho Falls, where the city reduced electricity rates by 5 percent in January.

In 2001, the city utility had raised rates by 25 percent because of soaring power costs. A year later, rates were jacked up another 28 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bonneville and Jefferson counties reporter Ben Botkin can be reached at 542-6742.