Electric Power: Issues Concerning Expansion of the Pacific Northwest-Southwest Intertie
RCED-88-199
Published: Sep 14, 1988. Publicly Released: Oct 12, 1988.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) plans to expand the Pacific Northwest-Southwest Intertie, focusing on the: (1) BPA justification for the expansion; (2) relationship of Canadian power imports to the intertie expansion; and (3) potential impacts on salmon and steelhead trout.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bonneville Power Administration | The Administrator, BPA, should clarify the BPA economic analysis by providing a breakout of BPA costs and the sources and extent of revenues it expects for each 800-MW increment of the addition. Doing the analysis for each using the same regionwide net benefits approach that BPA employed in its original analysis would be useful. This information should help clarify the relationship between the economic basis for the BPA investment and noneconomic considerations, and it may also contribute to the decision about how much capacity BPA should pay for. |
Closed – Implemented
BPA performed a supplemental economic analysis, as recommended.
|
| Bonneville Power Administration | The Administrator, BPA, should contract for an independent review of FISHPASS and include the activities generally undertaken in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviews of models. The Administrator may wish to consult with EPA officials concerning the content and methods used in these reviews. |
Closed – Implemented
A contract was entered into with the University of Washington to review FISHPASS. A draft report, dated February 1990, concludes that FISHPASS is the best and most appropriate model to use for the time being. Though the draft report identified additional work to be done, the results of the review are not expected to change. The final report was expected May 1990.
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Anadromous fishesComputer modelingEconomic analysisElectric power transmissionElectric utilitiesElectric utility constructionHydroelectric energyProjectionsWater powerSalmon