Bonneville Sale Plan Draws Senators’ Protest Murray, Oregon’s Wyden Say It Would Lead To Increased Rates

Sat., Dec. 13, 1997

Michael Paulson Seattle Post-Intelligencer

President Clinton’s budget office is proposing to sell the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency that supplies about half of the electric power sold in the Northwest, two of the region’s senators said.

Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., fired off identical letters to Clinton this week protesting what they described as an Office of Management and Budget proposal to sell the federal power marketing administrations. They said such a move would result in increased electricity rates for many of the region’s residents.

“As a senator who represents constituents that depend on the power marketing administrations to make their electricity costs affordable, I am writing to inform you that I strenuously object to such an ill-advised policy because it is fundamentally flawed and lacks the support of the American people,” the senators wrote.

Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., on Thursday gave a speech in Portland to the Public Power Council, a group of Northwest public utilities, in which he emphasized his opposition to any sale of the Bonneville Power Administration. Gorton believes that the only way the private sector could finance a purchase of the BPA is by raising rates for consumers.

In 1995, 64 of the 100 members of the Senate voted against a proposal to sell the federal power marketing administrations.

Clinton administration officials declined to comment on the president’s budget proposal, which is scheduled to be released Feb. 2.

Ted Case, a lobbyist for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents 1,000 consumer-owned utilities in 46 states, said several administration staffers have told him that the OMB has proposed selling at least some of the nations’ power marketing associations. Case’s organization represents eight Washington state utilities.

“We’re flabbergasted that the administration would want to go through this again,” Case said. “It’s a bad deal for the taxpayers and a bad deal for the consumers.”

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.