Action Alert!

Your consumer-owned utility purchases some or all of its power from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). As a result, your rates are significantly affected by the costs BPA incurs. Given the tough economy, it is important that BPA not increase its costs with no appreciable benefit to its utility customers, or put its customers at risk of even greater costs through risky schemes.

BPA is proposing to sell power at a significant financial loss to a multi-national aluminum smelter company that operates a plant in Ferndale, Washington (Alcoa, Inc.). BPA is also offering the deal to another smelter in Columbia Falls, Montana (Glencore/CFAC). BPA has no legal obligation to do this, but will subsidize these companies over the next seven years at the expense of higher rates charged to public power utility customers. The total cost could be more than half a billion dollars.

These higher rates will hurt residents, as well as businesses and the jobs they provide. In an effort to subsidize the jobs in one industry, this action by BPA will cause job losses elsewhere in the region.

In addition to rate increases and job losses, public power utility customers will be financially responsible for the electricity contracts if the aluminum companies find less expensive power elsewhere or decide to close up their businesses in the Northwest. Aluminum companies have not been good neighbors in the past. During the Energy Crisis, Kaiser Aluminum shut down its smelter, laid off its workers and sold BPA power at market rates. They made millions from federal hydropower subsidized by us, while our power rates doubled.

Please take a minute to copy the message below, and contact BPA by August 3 rd to let them know that you disagree with their decision to subsidize aluminum smelter companies at your expense. BPA’s decision would harm your community’s businesses and citizens who already are hurting from rising power costs.

To post your message, visit www.bpa.gov/comment and scroll down to the topic “ Proposed Terms of Service for DSIs.” Click on the Make Comment button and follow the instructions. Here is a sample message to copy and paste into the comment screen:

Our community’s businesses and citizens are hurting because of these tough economic times. I’m writing to let you know that BPA’s proposal to provide half a billion dollars to Alcoa, Inc. and Glencore/CFAC at the expense of public power consumers is poor public policy. Even worse, I understand that BPA is willing to cover the risk of these companies walking away from their power purchase, leaving public power consumers financially responsible for those expenses.

BPA should not enter into any arrangement that uses our community’s dollars to benefit private companies it chooses to prefer over us. Increasing the power rates we pay will lead to unjustified further job losses and difficulties for our region.

Our community and its jobs are just as important as those that BPA is targeting.

Sincerely,

[Your Name and Contact Information]