New PUDs could create 5.8 million kilowatt electric power shortfall

This article discusses ideas to create new public utilities in the Northwest. Sterling Munro of the Bonneville Power Administration articulates why he thinks this type of proposal would complicate energy policy in the PNW, specifically saying that electricity costs would rise in the following years and again in 10 years. He comments on the issue of public vs. private power and says that the creation of new preference customers would only shift shortages from the private sector to the public sector. He says that new public utilizes would hold the loads but not the power supplies. The article further mentions the proposed regional power bill and its requirement for using renewable energy. KEYWORDS: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Pacific Northwest Energy, Public Utilities, Domestic & Rural Power Authority (DRPA), Consumer Groups, Oregon, U.S. Senate, Industrial Power Demands, 280DP18016.