The Bonneville Power Administration said Wednesday that rates under power contracts taking effect next Oct. 1 will be increased 15 percent. Like other electricity suppliers in the Northwest, the federal power-marketing agency blamed the increase on market costs for wholesale power that are far above historic levels. More than 130 utilities and industrial customers signed contracts last week for up to 11,000 megawatts of power. Federal dams and the nuclear-powered Columbia Generating Station can produce an average 8,000 megawatts. The rest must be purchased on the wholesale market.
Costs there range upward of four cents per kilowatt-hour.
Base rate under the new contracts will be 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour. Almost every Spokane-area utility buys some or all of its electricity from Bonneville. Norman said the amount of increased cost each passes on to customers will vary. Several, including Kaiser Aluminum, have already closed smelters or cut production. Officials warned last week, before the additional 15 percent charge was announced, that BPA's prices were pushing them closer to extinction.