[6] Northwest Dams Compare Favorable To Others, BPA Study Says

The overall costs of operating Northwest dams compare favorably to similar facilities in North America, according to study released last week by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The study, performed by an Atlanta-based consulting firm, comes as BPA reviews its costs in preparation for the new rate period that starts in October. The purpose of the benchmarking study was to determine how Northwest dams stacked up against others of similar size in the region and North America.

"The majority of the Northwest hydro stations benchmarked in this study had similar costs within their relevant peer groups and compared favorably to North American averages for operations and for maintenance of plant, waterways, and dams, and buildings and grounds," according to a press release issued by BPA.

Bonneville's customers have been urging the agency to cut their baseline budget costs.

The release said that the study found no trend indicating that the majority of Federal Columbia River Power System stations were less or more costly than other regional stations. However, federal facilities "have a significant opportunity for reducing operations costs through automation," according to the release. Such automation is being considered.

The study compared 29 dams: 12 from the U.S Army Corp of Engineers, four from the Bureau of Reclamation, three from Chelan County PUD, three from Tacoma Power, five from Seattle City Light, and two from Grant County PUD.

Plant maintenance administrative support functions of most federal and nonfederal stations in the Northwest were at or below averages for similar facilities surveyed nationally, according to the BPA press release.

Public affairs and regulatory costs, including fish and wildlife, recreation, taxes and licensing made up nearly half of the benchmarked costs, according to the press release.

In this area, many Northwest dams are at or above North American averages due largely to fish mitigation, recreation and visitor operations, the release said.-Steve Ernst

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