United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-04-19 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:AIMD-94-67BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR P0b002ee18039e1e3 f:ai94067b DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR AIMD-94-67BR Financial management Borrowing authority Authority to borrow from Treasury Energy industry Electric utilities Energy marketing Budgetary reserves Budget authority Snake River (ID) Columbia River Power System Briefing Report AIMD The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which markets and distributes power generated on the Columbia River and its tributaries, faces significant operating and financial risks because of its heavy reliance on borrowing, recent operating losses, and other uncertainties. For nearly all of its capital investments, BPA uses debt financing--that is, BPA borrows money and repays the debt, with interest, through future revenues. Almost all of BPA's new borrowing is projected to come from the U.S. Treasury. By contrast, public utilities and federal entities, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, generally use a higher portion of their current revenues to pay for capital expenditures than BPA does. In the short term, BPA's low financial reserves provide little flexibility to respond to further operating losses, increasing the possibility that BPA would be unable to make its annual payment to Treasury. In the longer term, BPA's financial viability could also be jeopardized if the gap between BPA rates and the cost of alternative energy sources continues to narrow. Such a scenario could cause some BPA customers to meet their energy needs elsewhere, leaving a dwindling pool of ratepayers to pay off the debt burden accumulated during previous years. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR.htm GAO/AIMD-94-67BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-94-67BR Briefing Report GAO/AIMD-94-67BR; Bonneville Power Administration: Borrowing Practices and Financial Condition; Financial management Borrowing authority Authority to borrow from Treasury Energy industry Electric utilities Energy marketing Budgetary reserves Budget authority Snake River (ID) Columbia River Power System