Utilities edge toward transmission group

PORTLAND – The Bonneville Power Administration and several utilities, including NorthWestern Energy, have taken their first official step toward revamping the Western electricity transmission system, proposing an organization called Grid West.

The proposal, after nearly a decade of discussion, sets the stage for new ways of distributing electricity throughout six Western states and British Columbia as early as 2007.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been urging creation of regional transmission organizations, or RTOs, nationwide since the late 1990s.

“We need a comprehensive solution to regional transmission problems,” said Allen Burns, Bonneville’s executive vice president for industry restructuring.

The proposal announced Thursday included an agreement to adopt a set of bylaws for Grid West.

The new organization will hire a recruiter to find interim board members, with support from Bonneville and the investor-owned utilities, including Portland General Electric and PacificPower.

The other investor-owned utilities that approved the Grid West bylaws include: Avista Corp., British Columbia Transmission Corp., and Idaho Power Co.