[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65652-65653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30959]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration


Loveland Area Projects, Post-1999 Resource Study

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Completion.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Post-1989 General Power Marketing and 
Allocation Criteria (Criteria), Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program-
Western Division, published in the Federal Register on January 31, 1986 
(51 FR 4012), the Western Area Power Administration's (Western) 
Loveland Area Office (LAO) has completed a hydrological study to 
determine the available electric power resources for the period 
starting with the first day of the October 1999 billing period through 
the last day of the September 2004 billing period. The results of the 
study show that there is an energy deficit and 

[[Page 65653]]
some surplus capacity available in the post-1999 period. The annual 
energy deficit is 3.3 percent of the total annual energy resource. The 
deficit occurs in the winter season when LAO has historically purchased 
energy. Western has reviewed the study results and concluded that the 
energy resource, even though deficit, will be sufficient to meet the 
current contractual commitments with minor energy purchases. The 
available capacity will be used to maintain operation flexibility. 
Therefore, there is no need to change the allocated amounts of energy 
with capacity under the Criteria between 1999 and 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen A. Fausett, Area Manager, 
Loveland Area Office, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 3700, 
Loveland, CO 80539-3003, Telephone: (970) 490-7201.

Regulatory Procedural Requirements

    The authority upon which Western allocates and contracts for 
electric service is based upon the provisions of the Reclamation Act of 
1902 (ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388); the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 
U.S.C. 485h(c)); the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 (42 
U.S.C. 7152, 7191); the Flood Control Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 891); the 
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Acts of 1962 and 1974 (Pub. L. 87-590, 76 
Stat. 389 and Pub. L. 93-493, 88 Stat. 1497); and acts amending or 
supplementing the foregoing legislation.

Background

    Power produced by the Loveland Area projects is marketed pursuant 
to the Criteria. LAO's firm electric service contracts executed under 
the Criteria expire on the last day of the September billing period in 
2004. The Criteria states ``* * * at the end of the 1999 summer season 
billing period, the provisions of the contracts concerning the amounts 
of energy and capacity committed will be subject to revision based on 
the marketable resource. Any necessary revisions to these contract 
provisions will be determined by Western and presented to the 
contractors by the end of the 1996 summer season billing period.'' The 
available resources in the Criteria were determined by duplicating the 
river systems with a hydrological computer modeling program and 
calculating what the available energy and capacity would be using this 
data. The marketable capacity was calculated using a 90-percent 
probability of exceedance factor.
    The energy portion of the Post-1999 Resource Study uses the average 
of the actual monthly generation rather than a calculated amount of 
energy using a hydrological computer simulation model. The capacity 
portion of the study uses essentially the same methodology as used in 
the Criteria. The results of the Post-1999 Resource Study show that 
there is an energy deficit and some surplus capacity available.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Resources       
                                               -------------------------
                                                              Difference
                                                 Post 1999       from   
                                                 marketable    contract 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter Energy (GWh)...........................        821.1       (89.2)
Summer Energy (GWh)...........................      1,153.1         23.1
                                               -------------------------
      Total Energy (GWh)......................      1,974.2       (66.1)
                                               =========================
Winter Capacity (MW)..........................        538.5         42.0
Summer Capacity (MW)..........................        606.7         16.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Environmental Compliance

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C 4321 
et seq.) and implementing regulations issued by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) require that the 
environmental effects of agency actions be studied and considered by 
decision makers. DOE issued Implementing Procedures and Guidelines for 
the National Environmental Policy Act at 10 CFR Part 1021. Performance 
of this resource study meets the definition of a categorical exclusion, 
which is a category of actions defined at 40 CFR 1508.4 and listed in 
Appendix A to Subpart D of the DOE Implementing Procedures for which 
neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact 
statement is usually required. The applicable categorical exclusion is 
found at A9 in Appendix A to Subpart D.

    Issued at Washington, DC, December 11, 1995.
Joel K. Bladow,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-30959 Filed 12-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P