Task Force Wants Bpa Split In Two Recommendation Agrees With Power Agency’s Wishes

A regional energy task force is recommending the Bonneville Power Administration be split in two, to better meet the Northwest’s electricity needs.

If adopted, the proposal could dramatically change the way electricity is produced and sold in the Northwest.

The Oregonian obtained a draft of the plan, which is to be made public by the BPA later this week. The plan was developed by a 20-member panel appointed by the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

A key part of the proposal would split the BPA into two agencies.

One organization would market wholesale power and would be prohibited from selling electricity to retail customers, other than the industries the BPA already serves.

The other would oversee the Northwest’s transmission system. The BPA owns 15,012 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, about 75 percent of all lines in the region.

The BPA’s transmission arm would become part of an independent operator that also would run transmission operations of the region’s main utilities.

Seven major Northwest utilities have agreed to form a partnership to manage the transmission lines they own. They plan to file a proposal with the government by Dec. 31.

Combining all transmission under one operator would prevent companies from charging higher prices to other electricity providers.

The two entities could continue as agencies of the U.S. Department of Energy or be changed to government corporations.

Of the BPA’s 3,200 employees, 1,900 would shift to the transmission organization and 1,300 to the power marketing group.

It’s not clear whether the breakup would result in the loss of jobs, BPA spokeswoman Dulcy Mahar said.

The BPA has previously proposed breaking itself into two groups.

“The only debate is the degree,” Mahar said. “We’ve already administratively separated the business lines, and we’re prepared to go further.”