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Doug Bechtel
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Number 200 is a very special OPALCOGRAM for me. Can anyone remember when OPALCOGRAM No. 1 was printed or what it was about? I know because I just looked it up. It ran on January 15, 1990, and it was about BPA rates and energy conservation. Since then, I have done an OPALCOGRAM every other week plus several special ones on specific topics.
It was interesting reading over the old OPALCOGRAMS because I could follow the changes that OPALCO has seen over the past 7 years. Initially, the OPALCOGRAMS focused on what was happening inside OPALCO. We talked about submarine cables (which have been a recurring theme), electric rates and our continuing emphasis on conservation. In December of 1990 and January of 1991, we were hit by a series of great storms that left some of our members without power for several weeks. This started the Storm Abatement Program, and over a series of weeks, we discussed what we were hoping to accomplish and how we were going to pay for it. Looking back, the Storm Abatement Program has been very effective in accomplishing what we needed.
By mid 1992, we started to look at areas outside of the operation of OPALCO. We talked about alternative energy sources and changes in the electric industry that we foresaw on the horizon. During 1992 and 1993, we spent a lot of time on regional issues, particularly the "reinvention" BPA was going through. Towards the end of this period, the question of BPA's survival was something that required a lot of my time and effort.
1994 and 1995 began in-depth discussions of the changes that I saw coming to the electric utility industry through restructuring, deregulation and customer choice - changes that are not complete even today. This period was also critical for the BPA rates that are in effect today (and will be until 2001).
In 1996 and 1997, we again turned our efforts internally where we started to focus on our cost of operation and figure out what would be necessary to keep you as a customer in an era where you could choose your electricity provider.
Not all of our OPALCOGRAMS have been serious. Some have been trivial and some have been fun. My overall favorite is the March 30, 1994 OPALCOGRAM concerning my proposal to build a series of tunnels between the San Juan Islands. I know from talking to many of you that it caused some increased blood pressure before you realized that I had written it for April Fools. Someday I will probably print that one again because I like it so much.
Many of the best OPALCOGRAMS came as a result of a discussion with a member. I have really appreciated your comments and suggestions and hope you continue to let me know what you think.
Four years ago when I did OPALCOGRAM 100, I said that if you would keep on reading them, I would keep on writing them, and I wondered if I would be able to find another hundred things to write about. Well, it turns out that I never seem to have a problem coming up with something to talk about because there is so much going on. So, if you keep reading them, I will keep writing them!
Doug Bechtel
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