§839f Administrative Provisions

Summary

Lets the Administrator make and keep contracts under the old Bonneville Project Act rules and keeps other contract rules that applied on December 5, 1980. The Administrator must run the office and carry out this law following the policies of the Bonneville Act and other named policies, and must work with the Secretary of Energy and the Council to put the law into effect quickly and in a sound, businesslike way. Contracts to sell or trade power for use outside the Pacific Northwest must follow limits like those in the 1964 law for surplus energy and peaking capacity. When figuring how much power a non‑federal Pacific Northwest customer needs, the Administrator must exclude customer-owned power sold outside the region if that sale raised firm needs here, unless the Administrator finds the power could not reasonably have been kept for local use. The Administrator may sell replacement power only from surplus supplies. If sales by a utility do not increase what the Administrator must provide, those sales are not blocked, and the Administrator must provide transmission and related services without unfairly favoring or punishing utilities that developed their own resources, subject to contracts, other laws, and available transmission capacity. Certain final actions are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act, including adoption of plans or programs, sales or purchases of power, resource acquisitions, conservation actions, assistance contracts and credits, final rate decisions, and rules. Review uses the administrative record; rate rulings must be supported by substantial evidence in the rulemaking record. Lawsuits about the law or its actions must be filed in the regional U.S. court of appeals within 90 days of final action (60 days for challenges to plans or programs), or they are barred. Interest on some government bonds keeps its tax exemption when the Administrator certifies before buying resources that the buyers are public bodies, co-ops, or federal agencies and Treasury finds less than a major portion goes to non‑exempt buyers. FERC must use a joint State board when reviewing certain utility rates sold to the Administrator. A company that sells at least 90% of its power to the Administrator and meets organization rules is not treated as an “electric utility company” under certain laws, but the Administrator limits equity investments, must approve major related contracts with the SEC’s concurrence within 60 days, and may remove that special status after public notice and a hearing (final decision within 30 days after the hearing). At a customer’s request and expense, the Administrator shall try to acquire or help sell replacement power and provide transmission, storage, and related services unless doing so would seriously interfere with its programs. The Council must study retail rate designs to promote conservation and customer-owned renewables, and the Administrator can help customers plan and estimate savings. The Administrator must create a senior executive position in charge of conservation and renewable programs and related financial assistance.