August 6, 2007 - Additional handouts for Regional Dialogue workshops: Additional handouts are now available for the Aug. 8 Regional Dialogue Policy Implementation workshop. The first handout is High Water Mark Determination for Tiered-Rate Methodology (PDF, 22 pages, 267KB) and the second is Proposed 5(b)9(c) Policy Changes under the RD Policy (PDF, 14 pages, 123KB).

August 3, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshops: Handouts are now available for the Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 Regional Dialogue Policy Implementation workshops. The first handout is a draft schedule (PDF, 5 pages, 118 KB), the second is the Service to Publics Framework Overview (PDF, 36 pages, 274KB) and the third is BPA Tier 2 (PDF, 38 pages, 303KB). The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297. Additional handouts will be posted on Monday, Aug. 6.

July 30, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue clarification workshop: The agenda (PDF, 1 page, 15KB) and one handout (PDF, 1 page, 76KB) are now available for the July 31 Regional Dialogue clarification workshop.

July 27, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled: A workshop will be held Tuesday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. This workshop will be a question and answer session on the content of the Long-Term Regional Dialogue Policy and Record of Decision. The workshop will continue on Aug. 1 if needed. To participate by phone call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

July 26, 2007 - Residential Exchange meeting update: July 20 a letter (PDF, 1 page, 26 KB) was sent to stakeholders providing additional information on the Aug. 1 public meeting on BPA's Residential Exchange Program. A draft agenda (PDF, 1 page, 22 KB) was mailed with the letter.

July 19, 2007 - BPA's Long-Term Regional Dialogue Policy and Record of Decision: BPA Administrator and CEO, Stephen J. Wright, signed a letter today announcing the release of BPA's Long-Term Regional Dialogue Policy and Record of Decision. The letter (PDF, 2 pages, 35 kb) includes a fact sheet (PDF, 12 pages, 81 kb) and schedule (PDF, 1 page, 100KB). The Record of Decision (PDF, 326 pages, 1 MB) and Policy (PDF, 60 pages, 345 kb) were signed by BPA Administrator on July 19, 2007. A copy of the policy will be published in the Federal Register in mid-August. A separate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Record of Decision (PDF, 31 pages, 125 kb) was also signed by the BPA Administrator.

July 13, 2007 - Residential Exchange meeting scheduled: July 2 a letter (PDF, 1 page, 827KB) was sent to stakeholders announcing an Aug. 1 public meeting on BPA's Residential Exchange Program. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with registration beginning at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel, 8235 Northeast Airport Way, Portland, Ore.

July 2, 2007 - Handout for Regional Dialogue workshop: An additional customer proposal (PDF, 2 pages, 86KB) for the June 27, 2007 workshop is now available.

June 26, 2007 - Handout for Regional Dialogue workshop: An additional customer handout (PDF, 4 pages, 723KB) for the June 27 Regional Dialogue workshop is now available.

June 26, 2007 - Handout for Regional Dialogue workshop: A customer handout (PDF, 3 pages, 28KB) for the June 27 Regional Dialogue workshop is now available on proposals for Tier 1 Rate Design.

June 25, 2007 - Handout for Regional Dialogue workshop: The agenda (PDF, 1 page, 48KB) is now available for the June 27 Regional Dialogue workshop.

June 21, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled: A workshop will be held Wednesday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. The workshop will focus on proposals for Tier 1 Rate Design. To participate by phone call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297. Please note BPA will not hold a Regional Dialogue Implementation Workshops on June 26. If you have any questions please contact Michelle Manary at (503) 230-5858.

May 29, 2007 - Regional Dialogue rate design materials: The following files were requested at a previous Regional Dialogue workshop on rate design. Forecast variance rates (Excel, 71 KB), Rate impact model - CSP (Excel, 2 MB), Rate impact model - GSP (Excel, 2 MB), Calculation of PF Preference Rate Components (Excel, 202 KB), Components Rate Equity (Excel, 164 KB). If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Manary at (503) 230-5858.

May 18, 2007 - Handout for Regional Dialogue workshop: An additional handout (PDF, 8 pages, 73KB) for the May 18 Regional Dialogue workshop is now available on Rate Design Impacts. The workshop is taking place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

May 17, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshop: An agenda (PDF, 1 page, 38 KB) and handouts are now available for the May 18 Regional Dialogue workshop. The first handout is Tier 1 Rate Design (PDF, 10 pages, 78KB), the second is Load Variance Rates (PDF, 4 pages, 38KB), the third is Regional Dialogue Rate Design (PDF, 2 pages, 40KB) and the fourth is Alternatives for Tier 1 Rate Design (PDF, 12 pages, 273KB). The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

May 4 , 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled: A workshop will be held Friday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. The first hour of the workshop will focus on transparency in the net requirements process and the remainder of the day will focus on rate design. To participate by phone call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297. Please note BPA will not hold any Regional Dialogue Implementation Workshops the week of May 7.

April 17, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshops: An agenda (PDF, 2 pages, 97KB) and handouts are now available for the April 17 and 18 Regional Dialogue workshops. The first handout is High Water Mark Formula (PDF, 1 page, 152KB), the second is Tier 2 Overhead Allocation and Recovery (PDF, 2 pages, 112KB) and the third is Tier 1 Resources (PDF, 4 pages, 20KB). The April 17 workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to - 2:45 p.m. and the April 18 workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please note these are updated times from the original announcement. Both meetings will be held in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

April 9, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled: Two Regional Dialogue workshops will be held next week on Tuesday, April 17, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to address questions on hydro operations and marketing and Wednesday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to discuss named federal resources and obligations and Tier 2 overheads. Both meetings will be held in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

March 21, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshop: Handouts are now available for the March 21 Regional Dialogue workshop. The first handout is a Tiered Rates Methodology table of contents/outline (PDF,3 pages, 13 KB) and the second is a Background for development of the Tiered Rates Methodology. (PDF, 3 pages, 64KB) These handouts were submitted by BPA Preference Customers. The third handout Service to publics going forward (PDF, 3 pages, 28KB) was issued by BPA. The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

March 15, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled:A workshop to continue discussions from the March 14 workshop on the Product Catalog and the Tiered Rates Methodology is scheduled for 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 21 in the BPA Rates Hearing Room at 911 NE 11th Ave. If necessary a follow-up workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 22 followed by a workshop on Transmission issues in the afternoon. To participate by phone call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297.

March 14, 2007 - Regional Dialogue March 15 workshop changes: The tentatively scheduled morning session for Thursday, March 15 was deemed unneccesary and will not take place. The afternoon session with Transmission issues team will still be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Rates Hearing Room.

March 8, 2007 - Three Regional Dialogue workshops scheduled: The first workshop will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 13 to respond to questions about the rate design analysis that was presented at a workshop in mid-December. A second workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 14 to discuss ideas about the overall framework of the Regional Dialogue as well as discussions, including input from participants, about the Product Catalog and the Tiered Rates Methodology. If necessary, a third workshop will be held from 9 a.m. - noon on Thursday, March 15. In the afternoon there will be a Transmission issues team meeting. The agenda for this meeting will be available soon. All meetings will be held in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call Dolena Fernandez at (503) 230-4297. Please note there will be no phone connection for the March 13 workshop.

Feb. 27, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshop: Handouts (PDF, 9 pages, 114 KB) for the Feb. 28 Regional Dialogue workshop regarding FCRPS System Operations and Capacity are posted here. The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room.

Feb. 27, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop topic: The workshop scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28 will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. The topic of this meeting will be FCRPS System Operations and Capacity. To participate by phone, please call (503) 230-4297.

Feb. 23, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop schedule changes and agenda: The Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled for Feb. 27 is cancelled. The workshop scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28 will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone, please call (503) 230-4297.

Jan. 30, 2007: Regional Dialogue meeting: The Regional Dialogue Transmission Issues Team will meet from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m, Thursday, Feb. 1, at the Public Power Council Offices at 825 NE Multnomah St., Suite 1225. If you would like to attend this meeting, please sign up to participate on the RDTI by sending an email to techforum@bpa.gov by Jan. 30.

January 23, 2007 - Handouts for Regional Dialogue workshop: Handouts for the January 24^th Regional Dialogue workshop regarding transmission services are posted here. The workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. - Noon, Wednesday, January 24^th in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone call (503) 230-5566, wait for double beep then enter 5877#.

January 17, 2007 - Slice Public Meeting Canceled: BPA is canceling the public meeting scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Monday, Jan. 22, 2007. The cancellation (PDF, 1 page, 32 KB) was announced in a postcard to interested parties.

January 11, 2007 - Regional Dialogue workshop scheduled: A workshop to discuss transmission service in relation to the Long-Term Regional Dialogue policy proposal is scheduled for 9 a.m. - Noon, Wednesday, January 24, in the BPA Rates Hearing Room. To participate by phone call (503) 230-5566, wait for double beep then enter 5877#.

January 8, 2007 - Public Meeting Transcript Available: The transcript (PDF, 175 pages, 263 KB) is now available for the Long-Term Regional Dialogue public meeting held with Department of Energy representatives on December 6, 2006.

January 8, 2007 - Updated Schedule of Regional Dialogue Workshops: An updated version of the draft schedule (PDF, 2 pages, 54 KB) of Regional Dialogue implementation workshops is now available.

January 5, 2007 - Slice Public Meeting Announced: A public meeting is scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Monday, Jan. 22, 2007, in the BPA Rates Hearing Room, 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Portland, Ore. The meeting was announced in a letter (PDF, 1 page, 103 KB) signed by Vice President of Generation Asset Management Steve Oliver.

December 18, 2006 - Additional Handout(s) from Regional Dialogue Workshop: At the request from participants for additional clarification of the December 12 workshop, the following handout(s) are posted here represent the data from the Rate Design Analyses.

Additional Handout(s) from Regional Dialogue Workshop:

1. Rate Calculations for Customers
   (Excel, 215 KB) This spreadsheet shows how BPA calculates the rates in the five examples examined during the workshop. In addition, it shows the Demand Charge assumption and calculation used for each.
    
2. Public Version Rate Impact Model
   (Excel, 2.5 MB) This spreadsheet shows the calculation of Method A-C as well as how the customer’s rates change in each rate design.
    
3. Tier 2 Behavior Analysis for Customers
   (Excel, 271 KB) This spreadsheet is the preliminary analyses showing how different Tier 2 shapes work under the three different rate designs.
      

For more information, see the Regional Dialogue page

May 19, 2008 - NFB Trigger Events: On May 2, 2008, BPA, the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation signed four separate memorandums of agreement with four tribes and the states of Idaho and Montana, known as the Columbia Basin Fish Accords. These agreements resolve issues in the litigation over the remand of the 2004 Biological Opinion (Biop) for the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). On May 5, 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries issued a final 2008 Biological Opinion regarding the effects of the operation of the FCRPS on species of salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act. In a letter (PDF, 2 pages, 16.5 kb), BPA announced that these events fit the definitions of a trigger event as defined in the 2007 General Rate Schedule Provisions.

April 1, 2008 - NFB Trigger Event: On February 25, 2008 the U.S. District Court ordered that the 2008 operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) shall be conducted as set forth in the 2008 Fish Operations Plan. In a letter (PDF, 1 page, 15 kb), BPA announced that the order fits the definition of a trigger event as defined in the 2007 General Rate Schedule Provisions.

October 4, 2007 - WP-08 Power Rates go into effect unchanged: On October 1, 2007 BPA’s power rates for FY 2008 (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008) went into effect with no changes from the FY 2007 rates (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007). Please see the Current Power Ratesweb page for details.

August 31, 2007 - CRAC/DDC Workshop Scheduled on Sept. 10: BPA is hosting a workshop for rate case and other interested parties that will cover possible CRAC and DDC adjustments to power rates for FY 2008. There are no adjustments expected at this time. The workshop will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 10, in the BPA Rates Hearing Room immediately prior to a scheduled workshop on Residential Exchange Issues. For more information see the Aug. 31, 2007 letter

For more information, see the Power Rates page

For viewing past announcements, see the Previous Announcements page

June 1, 2006 - PFR II Final Report Issued:  BPA issued today its Power Function Review (PFR) II Final Closeout Report (PDF, 20 pages, 269 KB) concluding the PFR II process.  This report outlines the program levels that will be used in preparing BPA's final rate proposal for the WP-07 Power Rate Case.  The final report is accompanied by a letter from the Senior Vice President of the Power Business Line, Paul Norman (PDF, 2 pages, 126 KB)

For more information, see the Power Function Review page

June 7, 2006 - Proposed Settlement Agreement with Southern California Edison: BPA and Southern California Edison have reached an agreement on a proposal to settle two longstanding lawsuits filed by SCE against BPA in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims regarding a 1988 power sales and exchange contract. A press release was also issued today with this announcement.

UPDATE: June 15, 2006
A 30-day public comment period on this proposed settlement is now open through July 14, 2006. For more information and to submit comments, please see the public comments page at www.bpa.gov/comment

Jan. 5, 2007 - Slice Public Meeting Announced: A public meeting is scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Monday, Jan. 22, 2007, in the BPA Rates Hearing Room, 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Portland, Ore. The meeting was announced in a letter (PDF, 1 page, 103 KB) signed by Vice President of Generation Asset Management Steve Oliver.

October 2, 2006 - The Applicable Interest Rates for Slice Delinquent Bills web page has been updated for the month of October.

October 2, 2006 - The applicable interest rate for computing interest to be added to the Annual Slice True-Up Adjustment Charge or Credit for Contract Year 2006 will be 8.25 percent. See the Applicable Interest Rates for Slice Product web page for more information.

August 30, 2006 - Proposed Slice Settlement Released:  Randy Roach, BPA General Counsel, signed a letter (PDF, 2 pages, 126 KB) today announcing a proposed settlement of issues associated with the Slice product.  BPA, representatives of BPA public agency customers that purchase the Slice power product and representatives of a large number of other public agency customers that do not purchase Slice have been in mediation for nearly two years and have now reached tentative settlement.  BPA is providing the public with the opportunity to comment.  The Proposed Settlement Agreement (PDF, 60 pages, 391 KB) is available electronically.  The comment period is open through Sept. 21, 2006.  A background and summary of the proposed settlement (PDF, 10 pages, 105 KB) was also issued today.

For more information, see the "Slice of the System" page

November 27, 2007 BPA Notice Letter sent November 19, 2007: The BPA Notice Letter provides information about BPA Power Service's response to Western Electricity Coordination Council's (WECC) interpretation of load responsibility, and how BPA will operate after December's implementation of e-Tag version 1.8. BPA's implementation is consistent with, and based upon Northwest Power Pool Reserve Sharing Group's (NWPP RSG) response to WECC's interpretation of "load responsibility".

November 15, 2005 - Volume 2 of the 2004 White Book Technical Appendix now available:  See the 2004 White Book page.

November 14, 2005 - Correction to 2004 White Book Summary Document:  Figure 10 on page 30 of the 2004 White Book Summary Document has been corrected.  See the 2004 White Book page.