The Cheers Have Stopped for BPA

April 21, 1980. This article concludes a series ran on the Bonneville Power administration ? the federal agency originally in charge of supplying hydroelectric power and determining its market value. A cloud of controversy surrounds BPA for many reasons, but mostly because of their rising utility rates. The rate increases are caused by ?net billing? ? which is explained as the high costs of nuclear power. Critics further indicate that the connections between BPA and the aluminum industry reveal worrisome correlations about how the federal agency treats its commercial customers in comparison to residential consumers. The article goes on by speaking to the relationship between BPA and the WPPSS and it also references the expensive power sold to California by BPA. The article ends with a comment from Sterling Munro: ?Once people cheered when ground was broken for a new power plant of any kind?Today the common thread is conflict.? KEYWORDS: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA); Pacific Northwest Electricity and Utilities; Columbia River; Hydroelectric Power; Sterling Munro; Washington Public Utility Districts Association; Puget Power; Aluminum Industry; Seattle City Light; Snohomish Public Utility District; Nuclear Power; Hanford, WA; Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS); Seattle Deputy Mayor Bob Royer; 280DP18040