[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