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BPA to Increase Wholesale Power Rates 9.4% Next Fall by Staff Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 11, 2009

The Bonneville Power Administration said it plans to increase its wholesale power rates 9.4 percent for the two-year period beginning Oct. 1.

BPA is a federal power marketing agency that distributes power generated at dams along the Columbia-Snake River system and one nuclear plant to utilities such as Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power and Snohomish Public Utility District.

BPA said the rate increase will be the first in six years and is driven by costs of operating the nuclear plant and the hydro system, salmon protection and recovery programs and lower sales of surplus power because of continued low-water conditions in the Columbia basin and the economic downturn.

Transmission rates would be held steady under BPA's proposal; the agency said the combined effect of the two would be an average increase of 7 percent to 8 percent for its public-utility customers.