II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2332

To amend the Federal Columbia River Transmission System Act to provide

for the reconstitution of outstanding repayment obligations of the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration for the appropriated

capital investments in the Federal Columbia River Power System.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 28 (legislative day, JULY 20), 1994

Mr. HATFIELD (for himself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Federal Columbia River Transmission System

Act to provide for the reconstitution of outstanding repayment obligations of the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration for the appropriated capital

investments in the Federal Columbia River Power

System.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bonneville Power Ad5 ministration Refinancing Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 3 of the Federal Columbia River Trans3 mission System Act (16 U.S.C. 838a) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (b) and (c) as

5 paragraphs (c) and (d), respectively;

6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (a) the follow7 ing new paragraph (b):

8 ‘‘(b) The term ‘capital investment’ means a

9 capitalized cost funded by Federal appropriations

10 that—

11 ‘‘(1) is for a project, facility, or separable

12 unit or feature, of a project or facility;

13 ‘‘(2) is a cost for which the Administrator

14 is required by law to establish rates to repay to

15 the United States Treasury through the sale of

16 electric power, transmission, or other services;

17 ‘‘(3) excludes a Federal irrigation invest18 ment; and

19 ‘‘(4) excludes an investment financed by

20 the current revenues of the Administrator or by

21 bonds issued and sold, or authorized to be is22 sued and sold, by the Administrator under sec23 tion 13 of this Act.’’; and

24 (3) by adding after paragraph (d), as redesig25 nated by paragraph (1), the following:
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1 ‘‘(e) The term ‘old capital investment’ means a

2 capital investment whose capitalized cost—

3 ‘‘(1) was incurred, but not repaid, before

4 October 1, 1995; and

5 ‘‘(2) was for a project, facility, or sepa6 rable unit or feature, of a project or facility

7 placed in service before October 1, 1995.

8 ‘‘(f) The term ‘repayment date’ means the end

9 of the period within which the Administrator’s rates

10 are to ensure the repayment of the principal amount

11 of a capital investment.

12 ‘‘(g) The term ‘Treasury rate’, for a fiscal year,

13 means a rate that the Secretary of the Treasury de14 termines as soon as practicable after the beginning

15 of the fiscal year and that is equal to the average

16 prevailing market yield during the preceding fiscal

17 year on interest-bearing marketable securities of the

18 United States which, at the time the computation is

19 made, have terms of 15 years or more remaining to

20 maturity. The average yield is computed as the aver21 age during the preceding fiscal year using the daily

22 bid prices. When the average yield so computed is

23 not a multiple of one-eighth of 1 percent, the rate

24 is the multiple of one-eighth of 1 percent nearest to

25 the average yield.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. RECONSTITUTION OF OUTSTANDING PAYMENT OB2 LIGATIONS.

3 The Federal Columbia River Transmission System

4 Act (16 U.S.C. 838 et seq.) is amended by adding at the

5 end the following:

6 ‘‘NEW PRINCIPAL AMOUNTS

7 ‘‘SEC. 14. (a) Effective October 1, 1995, an old cap8 ital investment has a new principal amount that is the

9 sum of—

10 ‘‘(1) the present value, calculated using a dis11 count rate equal to the Treasury rate for fiscal year

12 1996, of the old payment amounts for the old capital

13 investment; and

14 ‘‘(2) an amount equal to $100,000,000 multi15 plied by a fraction whose numerator is the principal

16 amount of the old payment amounts for the old cap17 ital investment and whose denominator is the sum of

18 the principal amounts of the old payment amounts

19 for all old capital investments.

20 ‘‘(b) The Administrator shall determine the new prin21 cipal amounts for old capital investments. The Adminis22 trator shall obtain the approval of the Secretary of the

23 Treasury of the Administrator’s determination of the new

24 principal amounts and the Administrator’s assignment of

25 the interest rate to the new principal amounts, on the
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1 basis of consistency with the provisions of section 14 and

2 15 of this Act.

3 ‘‘(c) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘old

4 payment amounts’, in the case of an old capital invest5 ment, means the annual interest and principal that the

6 Administrator would have paid to the United States

7 Treasury from October 1, 1995, if the Bonneville Power

8 Administration Refinancing Act were not enacted, assum9 ing that—

10 ‘‘(1) the principal were repaid—

11 ‘‘(A) on the repayment date the Adminis12 trator assigned before October 1, 1993, to the

13 old capital investment; or

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of an old capital invest15 ment for which the Administrator has not as16 signed a repayment date before October 1,

17 1993, on a repayment date the Administrator

18 shall assign to the old capital investment in ac19 cordance with paragraph 10(d)(1) of the ver20 sion of Department of Energy Order RA

21 6120.2 in effect on October 1, 1993; and

22 ‘‘(2) interest were paid—

23 ‘‘(A) at the interest rate the Administrator

24 assigned before October 1, 1993, to the old cap25 ital investment; or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an old capital invest2 ment for which the Administrator has not as3 signed an interest rate before October 1, 1993,

4 at the Treasury rate for the fiscal year in which

5 construction is initiated on the project, facility,

6 or separable unit or feature the old capital in7 vestment concerns.

8 ‘‘INTEREST RATE FOR NEW PRINCIPAL AMOUNTS

9 ‘‘SEC. 15. As of October 1, 1995, the unpaid balance

10 on the new principal amount established for an old capital

11 investment under section 14 of this Act bears interest an12 nually at the Treasury rate for fiscal year 1996 until the

13 earlier of the date that the new principal amount is repaid

14 or the repayment date for the new principal amount.

15 ‘‘REPAYMENT DATES

16 ‘‘SEC. 16. As of October 1, 1995, the repayment date

17 for the new principal amount established for an old capital

18 investment under section 14 of this Act is no earlier than

19 the repayment date for the old capital investment provided

20 for under section 14(b)(1) of this Act.

21 ‘‘PREPAYMENT LIMITATIONS

22 ‘‘SEC. 17. During the period beginning on October

23 1, 1995, and ending on September 30, 2000, the total new

24 principal amounts of old capital investments, as estab25 lished under section 14 of this Act, that the Administrator
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1 may pay before their respective repayment dates shall not

2 exceed $100,000,000.

3 ‘‘INTEREST RATES FOR NEW CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

4 DURING CONSTRUCTION

5 ‘‘SEC. 18. (a) The principal amount of a capital in6 vestment for a project, facility, or separable unit or fea7 ture, of a project or facility placed in service after Septem8 ber 30, 1995, includes interest in each fiscal year of con9 struction of the project, facility, or separable unit or fea10 ture the capital investment concerns at a rate equal to

11 the 1-year rate for the fiscal year on the sum of—

12 ‘‘(1) construction expenditures that were made

13 from the date construction commenced through the

14 end of the fiscal year; and

15 ‘‘(2) accrued interest during construction.

16 ‘‘(b) The Administrator is not required to pay, during

17 construction of the project, facility, or separable unit or

18 feature the interest calculated, accrued, and capitalized

19 under subsection (a).

20 ‘‘(c) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘1-

21 year rate’, for a fiscal year, means the 1-year Treasury

22 agency borrowing rate as determined by the Secretary of

23 the Treasury for use during the first month of the fiscal

24 year taking into consideration the average of market yields

25 on outstanding marketable interest-bearing obligations of
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1 the United States with approximate periods to maturity

2 of 1 year.

3 ‘‘INTEREST RATES FOR NEW CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

4 ‘‘SEC. 19. The unpaid balance on the principal

5 amount of a capital investment for a project, facility, or

6 separable unit or feature, of a project or facility placed

7 in service after September 30, 1995, bears interest—

8 ‘‘(1) from the date the project, facility, or sev9 erable unit or feature the investment concerns is

10 placed in service until the earlier of the date the cap11 ital investment is repaid or the end of the repayment

12 period for the capital investment; and

13 ‘‘(2) at a rate determined by the Secretary of

14 the Treasury for use in assigning interest rates to

15 new capital investments during the month that in16 cludes the date the project, facility, or separable unit

17 or feature the new capital investment concerns is

18 placed in service, taking into consideration the aver19 age of market yields on outstanding marketable in20 terest-bearing obligations of the United States with

21 periods to maturity comparable to the repayment pe22 riod of the capital investment.

23 ‘‘CREDITS TO ADMINISTRATOR’S PAYMENTS TO THE

24 UNITED STATES TREASURY

25 ‘‘SEC. 20. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the Ad26 ministrator shall apply against amounts payable by the
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1 Administrator to the United States Treasury a credit in

2 the amount and for a fiscal year as follows:

3 ‘‘(1) $15,250,000 in fiscal year 1996.

4 ‘‘(2) $15,860,000 in fiscal year 1997.

5 ‘‘(3) $16,490,000 in fiscal year 1998.

6 ‘‘(4) $17,150,000 in fiscal year 1999.

7 ‘‘(5) $17,840,000 in fiscal year 2000.

8 ‘‘(6) $4,100,000 in each succeeding fiscal year

9 so long as the Administrator makes annual pay10 ments to the tribes under the settlement agreement.

11 ‘‘(b) For purposes of this section:

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘settlement agreement’ means

13 the agreement between the United States of America

14 and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reserva15 tion signed by the tribes on April 16, 1994, and by

16 the United States of America on April 21, 1994,

17 which agreement resolves claims of the tribes in

18 docket 181–D of the Indian Claims Commission,

19 which docket has been transferred to the United

20 States Court of Federal Claims.

21 ‘‘(2) The term ‘tribes’ means the Confederated

22 Tribes of the Colville Reservation, a federally recog23 nized Indian tribe.

24 ‘‘CONTRACT PROVISIONS

25 ‘‘SEC. 21. In each contract of the Administrator that

26 provides for the Administrator to sell electric power, trans-
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1 mission, or related services and that is in effect after Sep2 tember 30, 1995, the Administrator shall offer to include

3 or shall offer to amend to include, as the case may be,

4 provisions specifying that after September 30, 1995—

5 ‘‘(1) the Administrator shall establish rates and

6 charges on the basis that—

7 ‘‘(A) the principal amount of an old capital

8 investment shall be no greater than the new

9 principal amount established under section 14

10 of this Act;

11 ‘‘(B) the interest rate applicable to the un12 paid balance of the new principal amount of an

13 old capital investment shall be no greater than

14 the interest rate established under section 15 of

15 this Act;

16 ‘‘(C) any payment of principal of an old

17 capital investment shall reduce the outstanding

18 principal balance of the old capital investment

19 in the amount of the payment at the time the

20 payment is tendered; and

21 ‘‘(D) any payment of interest on the un22 paid balance of the new principal amount of an

23 old capital investment shall be a credit against

24 the appropriate interest account in the amount
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1 of the payment at the time the payment is ten2 dered;

3 ‘‘(2) apart from charges necessary to repay the

4 new principal amount of an old capital investment as

5 established under section 14 of this Act and to pay

6 the interest on the principal amount under section

7 15 of this Act, no amount may be charged for return

8 to the United States Treasury as repayment for or

9 return on an old capital investment, whether by way

10 of rate, rent, lease payment, assessment, user

11 charge, or any other fee;

12 ‘‘(3) amounts provided under section 1304 of

13 title 31, United States Code, shall be available to

14 pay, and shall be the sole source for payment of, a

15 judgment against or settlement by the Administrator

16 or the United States on a claim for a breach of the

17 contract provisions required by sections 14 through

18 21 of this Act; and

19 ‘‘(4) the contract provisions specified in sections

20 14 through 21 of this Act do not—

21 ‘‘(A) preclude the Administrator from re22 covering, through rates or other means, any tax

23 that is generally imposed on electric utilities in

24 the United States; or
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1 ‘‘(B) affect the Administrator’s authority

2 under applicable law, including section 7(g) of

3 the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning

4 and Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 839e(g)), to—

5 ‘‘(i) allocate costs and benefits, includ6 ing but not limited to fish and wildlife

7 costs, to rates or resources; or

8 ‘‘(ii) design rates.

9 ‘‘SAVINGS PROVISIONS

10 ‘‘SEC. 22. (a) Sections 14 through 21 of this Act do

11 not affect the obligation of the Administrator to repay the

12 principal associated with each capital investment, and to

13 pay interest on the principal, only from the ‘Administra14 tor’s net proceeds,’ as defined in section 13 of this Act.

15 ‘‘(b) Sections 14 through 21 of this Act do not affect

16 the authority of the Administrator to pay all or a portion

17 of the principal amount associated with a capital invest18 ment before the repayment date for the principal

19 amount.’’.

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