Bonneville only last week released the first steps in setting wholesale prices - call a subscription strategy. Actual contract negotiations and rate setting won't begin until next year. All of Bonneville's contracts expire in 2001. The strategies aren't set in stone. Bonneville will take public comments until Oct. 23 before making a final policy decision in November.
Local utilities are concerned about the cost of power, particularly in the summer months.
Dams have been used to create reservoirs to ensure strong water flows for energy production during the spring and summer. But under Bonneville's proposal, money could be used to breach lower Snake River dams, reducing summer water flows and power production while increasing the cost of electricity. Although that wouldn't hurt too bad in Western Washington, where summer power demands are relatively low, Eastern Washington irrigators and residents who use more power to stay cool could feel it in their pocketbooks. For an irrigator, that could mean additional costs could be passed on to them. With scorching temperatures this summer, local utilities also recorded seasonal peaks that rivaled winter highs, when electricity typically is in greatest demand.