Chapter 12H, Section 839c, Subsection (b) · 16 U.S.C. Chapter 12H — PACIFIC NORTHWEST ELECTRIC POWER PLANNING AND CONSERVATION

Contents

(b)

(1)Whenever requested, the Administrator shall offer to sell to each requesting public body and cooperative entitled to preference and priority under the Bonneville Project Act of 1937 [16 U.S.C. 832 et seq.] and to each requesting investor-owned utility electric power to meet the firm power load of such public body, cooperative or investor-owned utility in the Region to the extent that such firm power load exceeds—

(A)the capability of such entity’s firm peaking and energy resources used in the year prior to December 5, 1980, to serve its firm load in the region, and

(B)such other resources as such entity determines, pursuant to contracts under this chapter, will be used to serve its firm load in the region.

In determining the resources which are used to serve a firm load, for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B), any resources used to serve a firm load under such subparagraphs shall be treated as continuing to be so used, unless such use is discontinued with the consent of the Administrator, or unless such use is discontinued because of obsolescence, retirement, loss of resource, or loss of contract rights.

(2)Contracts with investor-owned utilities shall provide that the Administrator may reduce his obligations under such contracts in accordance with section 5(a) of the Bonneville Project Act of 1937 [16 U.S.C. 832d(a)].

(3)In addition to his authorities to sell electric power under paragraph (1), the Administrator is also authorized to sell electric power to Federal agencies in the region.

(4)Sales under this subsection shall be made only if the public body, cooperative, Federal agency or investor-owned utility complies with the Administrator’s standards for service in effect on December 5, 1980, or as subsequently revised.

(5)The Administrator shall include in contracts executed in accordance with this subsection provisions that enable the Administrator to restrict his contractual obligations to meet the loads referred to in this subsection in the future if the Administrator determines, after a reasonable period of experience under this chapter, that the Administrator cannot be assured on a planning basis of acquiring sufficient resources to meet such loads during a specified period of insufficiency. Any such contract with a public body, cooperative, or Federal agency shall specify a reasonable minimum period between a notice of restriction and the earliest date such restriction may be imposed.

(6)Contracts executed in accordance with this subsection with public body, cooperative, and Federal agency customers shall—

(A)provide that the restriction referred to in paragraph (5) shall not be applicable to any such customers until the operating year in which the total of such customers’ firm loads to be served by the Administrator equals or exceeds the firm capability of the Federal base system resources;

(B)not permit restrictions which would reduce the total contractual entitlement of such customers to an amount less than the firm capability of the Federal base system resources; and

(C)contain a formula for determining annually, on a uniform basis, each such customer’s contractual entitlement to firm power during such a period of restriction, which formula shall not consider customer resources other than those the customer has determined, as of December 5, 1980, to be used to serve its own firm loads.

The formula referred to in subparagraph (C) shall obligate the Administrator to provide on an annual basis only firm power needed to serve the portion of such customer’s firm load in excess of the capability of such customer’s own firm resources determined by such customer under paragraph (1) of this subsection to be used to serve its firm load.

(7)

(A)In this section, the term “joint operating entity” means an entity that is lawfully organized under State law as a public body or cooperative prior to September 22, 2000, and is formed by and whose members or participants are two or more public bodies or cooperatives, each of which was a customer of the Bonneville Power Administration on or before January 1, 1999.

(B)Pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administrator shall sell, at wholesale to a joint operating entity, electric power solely for the purpose of meeting the regional firm power consumer loads of regional public bodies and cooperatives that are members of or participants in the joint operating entity.

(C)A public body or cooperative to which a joint operating entity sells electric power under subparagraph (B) shall not resell that power except to retail customers of the public body or cooperative or to another regional member or participant of the same joint operating entity, or except as otherwise permitted by law.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

Defined terms · 24

Show every defined term

Administrator
means the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration.
Conservation
means any reduction in electric power consumption as a result of increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, or distribution.
Consumer
means any end user of electric power.
Council
means, unless otherwise specifically provided, the members appointed to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council established pursuant to section 839b of this title.
Customer
means anyone who contracts for the purchase of power from the Administrator pursuant to this chapter.
Direct service industrial customer
means an industrial customer that contracts for the purchase of power from the Administrator for direct consumption.
Electric power
means electric peaking capacity, or electric energy, or both.
existing direct service industrial customer
means any direct service industrial customer of the Administrator which has a contract for the purchase of electric power from the Administrator on December 5, 1980.
Federal base system resources
means—
Indian tribe
means any Indian tribe or band which is located in whole or in part in the region and which has a governing body which is recognized by the Secretary of the Interior.
joint operating entity
means an entity that is lawfully organized under State law as a public body or cooperative prior to September 22, 2000, and is formed by and whose members or participants are two or more public bodies or cooperatives, each of which was a customer of the Bonneville Power Administration on or before January 1, 1999.
Major resource
means any resource that— Such term does not include any resource acquired pursuant to section 838i(b)(6) of this title.
new direct service industrial customer
means any industrial entity other than an existing direct service industrial customer.
New large single load
means any load associated with a new facility, an existing facility, or an expansion of an existing facility—
Plan
means the Regional Electric Power and Conservation plan (including any amendments thereto) adopted pursuant to this chapter and such plan shall apply to actions of the Administrator as specified in this chapter.
regional
means—
Renewable resource
means a resource which utilizes solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, or similar sources of energy and which either is used for electric power generation or will reduce the electric power requirements of a consumer, including by direct application.
Reserves
means the electric power needed to avert particular planning or operating shortages for the benefit of firm power customers of the Administrator and available to the Administrator (A) from resources or (B) from rights to interrupt, curtail, or otherwise withdraw, as provided by specific contract provisions, portions of the electric power supplied to customers.
residential load
means all usual residential, apartment, seasonal dwelling and farm electrical loads or uses, but only the first four hundred horsepower during any monthly billing period of farm irrigation and pumping for any farm.
Resource
means—
Secretary
means the Secretary of Energy.
surplus energy
shall mean electric energy for which there is no market in the Pacific Northwest at any rate established for the disposition of such energy, and the term “surplus peaking capacity” shall mean electric peaking capacity for which there is no demand in the Pacific Northwest at the rate established for the disposition of such capacity.
surplus peaking capacity
shall mean electric peaking capacity for which there is no demand in the Pacific Northwest at the rate established for the disposition of such capacity.
system cost
means an estimate of all direct costs of a measure or resource over its effective life, including, if applicable, the cost of distribution and transmission to the consumer and, among other factors, waste disposal costs, end-of-cycle costs, and fuel costs (including projected increases), and such quantifiable environmental costs and benefits as the Administrator determines, on the basis of a methodology developed by the Council as part of the plan, or in the absence of the plan by the Administrator, are directly attributable to such measure or resource.