[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4646-4647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2178]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Resource Pool Size

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of public process on resource pool size and notice of 
informal public information meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western) is seeking 
public comment on the size of project-specific resource pools needed to 
meet the fair share needs of Native American tribes in the marketing 
areas served by the Central Valley Project, Washoe Project, and the 
Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects.

DATES: The consultation and comment period will end March 1, 1999. To 
be assured of consideration, written comments must be received by the 
end of the consultation and comment period.
    Three informal public information meetings have been scheduled. The 
first will be held on February 3, 1999, starting at 9 a.m. at Western's 
Desert Southwest Regional Office, 615 South 43rd Avenue, Phoenix, 
Arizona. The second will be held on February 5, 1999, starting at 9 
a.m. at the Department of Energy's Training Center, 1401 Maxwell, 
Kirtland Air Force Base NE., Albuquerque, New Mexico. The third will be 
held on February 9, 1999, starting at 1:30 p.m. at Western's Sierra 
Nevada Regional Office, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, California. The 
purpose of the informal meetings is to educate Native Americans on 
Western's power allocation policies, including the resource pool that 
will be the source of allocations of power to eligible Native American 
tribes. Although the target audience for these workshops is Native 
American tribes, these meetings are open to the public.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be hand-delivered, mailed, emailed, or 
faxed to Robert C. Fullerton, Project Manager, Corporate Services 
Office, Western Area Power Administration, 1627 Cole Boulevard, P.O. 
Box 3402, Golden, CO 80401-0098, telephone (303) 275-2700, fax (303) 
275-1290, email: [email protected]. All documentation developed or 
retained by Western during the course of this public process will be 
available for inspection and copying at this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Fullerton, Project Manager, 
Corporate Services Office, Western Area Power Administration, 1627 Cole 
Boulevard, P.O. Box 3402, Golden, CO 80401-0098, telephone (303) 275-
2700, email: [email protected].
    Joel K. Bladow, Regional Manager, Rocky Mountain Region, Western 
Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 3700, Loveland, CO 80539-3003, 
telephone (970) 490-7201, email: [email protected].
    J. Tyler Carlson, Regional Manager, Desert Southwest Region, 
Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 6457,

[[Page 4647]]

Phoenix, AZ 85005-6457, telephone (602) 352-2453, email: 
[email protected].
    David Sabo, Customer Service Center Manager, Colorado River Storage 
Project, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 11606, Salt Lake 
City, UT 84147-0606, telephone (801) 524-6372, email: [email protected].
    Jerry W. Toenyes, Regional Manager, Sierra Nevada Region, Western 
Area Power Administration, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630-4710, 
telephone (916) 353-4418, email: [email protected].
    Gerald C. Wegner, Regional Manager, Upper Great Plains Region, 
Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 35800, Billings, MT 59107-
5800, telephone (406) 247-7405, email:[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western's inquiry on the impact of electric 
utility restructuring started pursuant to the publication of notice in 
the Federal Register on December 1, 1998 (63 FR 66166). We sought input 
on six questions to help in the consideration of the impact of electric 
utility industry restructuring on the way that Western allocates power. 
While the comment period for this inquiry closed on January 15, 1999, a 
separate issue has been identified that must be addressed before 
completion of pending marketing plans. That issue is the size of the 
project-specific resource pools that are needed to meet the fair share 
needs of Native American tribes. The resource pools are derived from 
power that is not extended to existing long-term firm power customers.
    Considerable attention was devoted to the resource pool issue 
during the course of development of the Energy Planning and Management 
Program (Program) (60 FR 54151). The Program, which was adopted on 
October 20, 1995, established a framework for the project-specific 
allocation of hydropower. Pursuant to the Program, Western signed 
resource extension contracts with existing customers of the Pick-Sloan 
Missouri Basin Program-Eastern Division and the Loveland Area Projects. 
Resource pools of up to 6 percent of the marketable resource were set 
aside to meet a fair share of the needs of new customers, including 
Native American tribes, and other purposes as determined by Western. 
Four percent of the marketable resource was initially made available, 
and additional resource pool increments of up to 1 percent will be made 
available 5 and 10 years into the 20-year contract term.
    While the resource pools size for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin 
Program-Eastern Division and the Loveland Area Projects has already 
been determined, the Program anticipated that the resource pool size 
for the Central Valley Project, Washoe Project, and Salt Lake City Area 
Integrated Projects would be determined on a project-specific basis. In 
February of 1997, Western proposed application of the Program to the 
Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects, and further proposed ``an 
initial resource pool of up to 4 percent of available Federal resource 
. . . for new customers to encourage customer development of new 
technologies for conservation or renewable resources and for 
contingencies.'' In that Federal Register notice, published on February 
26, 1997 (62 FR 8709), Western also proposed potential reductions to 
resource commitments 5 and 10 years into the contract term, for the 
same purposes as the initial resource pool.
    On that same day, Western announced its Proposed 2004 Power 
Marketing Plan, which provided for marketing of power from Central 
Valley Project and Washoe Project powerplants after the year 2004. In a 
Federal Register notice published at 62 FR 8710, Western proposed a 4 
percent initial resource pool for new allocations and an additional 
incremental resource pool of up to 2 percent in the year 2014.
    While there was considerable public comment on resource pool size 
as a result of the publication of these two Federal Register notices in 
February of 1997, there is a need to receive further public comment on 
the fair share needs of eligible Native American tribes before the size 
of project-specific resource pools can be decided and pending marketing 
plans can be completed.
    Under the Program, entities that desire to purchase power from 
Western for resale to consumers, including municipalities, 
cooperatives, public utility districts, and public power districts, 
must have utility status. Native American tribes are not subject to 
this requirement. Western has stated that we would consider 
arrangements for the delivery of the benefits of cost-based Federal 
power to Native American tribes without utility status.

    Dated: January 22, 1999.
Michael S. Hacskaylo,
Adminstrator.
[FR Doc. 99-2178 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M