Ninth Circuit Construes Northwest Power Act
The Ninth Circuit issued two opinions yesterday concerning the application of the NWPA to the Bonneville Power Administration, an agency that markets power generated by federal hydroelectric projects on the Columbia River.
In Golden NW Aluminum v. BPA, the Court held that BPA acted lawfully in allocating some costs of providing service to direct-service customers to its preference customers. However, BPA cannot allocate to its preference customers costs of settlement with customers. The Court also held that BPA’s fish and wildlife costs estimates were not supported by substantial evidence.
In Portland General v. BPA, the Court held that the Bonneville Power Administration was bound by the power exchange requirements of the Northwest Power Act. While BPA has broad authority to settle claims, such settlements must be consistent with the requirements of the NWPA. The Court recognized that under the NWPA, some customer classes receive more favorable benefits than others, but BA did not have the authority to rectify that situation.
