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Retail wheeling legislation is very popular in the states where power is far more expensive than it is in Washington. In low cost states such as ours, the impetus is not there. This session's bill was driven by the Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities (ICNU). ICNU is comprised of the Boeings, the Weyerhausers, the Nordstroms and other very large power users who see the benefit of purchasing power on the open market. OPALCO continues to insist that retail wheeling not drive up the rates of the smaller users. In spite of the assurances of ICNU, none of us were ever convinced that residential rates would not go up. In fact, some analyses that we did here at OPALCO showed that the smallest residential member's bill might go up by as much as 25%, while the very largest residential bills would go down by an equal amount. We were also concerned that the potential loss of some of our larger members such as the schools, the grocery stores and resorts could have driven up the rates for the rest of us. Another bill that is continuing to work its way through the legislature will require us to include a lot of additional information on the bill we mail you each month. We are going to be required to break out transmission costs, distribution costs, energy costs, control area service costs, billing costs and more. It is very difficult for me to see how all this information is going to fit on our postcard bill. We have been wrestling for some time with the advantages of a larger bill in an envelope. It appears that this legislation is going to make the decision for us. I don't know what the cost of this is going to be, but we mail over 10,000 bills a month, so it is not going to take much of a cost increase before we begin to talk real dollars. We are also going to have to change our billing and accounting software to track these costs. Luckily, that process has been ongoing for over a year and should be in place by the time the legislation takes effect. I feel good because OPALCO is ahead of the curve on the retail wheeling issue. We have taken - and continue to take - actions to prepare for the deregulated future when it arrives to minimize the adverse effects on you. We are all fortunate to have a cooperative that is in good financial condition and is working to prosper in the future competitive markets rather than be swept along with the pack and be forced to take what comes.
Doug Bechtel
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