In a wide-ranging conversation with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council this month, Bonneville Power Administration Administrator Elliot Mainzer said the ongoing transformation of the electricity industry, characterized by a steady transition away from fossil fuel-fired power plants to greater reliance on renewable energy and energy efficiency, makes the current era a historical period for the Pacific Northwest.
"It's not a flash-in-the-pan set of activities," Mainzer said. "If you look at the national policy agenda, I think it's fair to say something fairly significant is likely to come out of the carbon conversation that is happening now," adding, "there are huge implications for the industry in terms of the generating and transmission systems, voltage stability, and infrastructure."
He said changes in the design of the wholesale energy market in the West also are attracting attention, if not concern, of Bonneville and its utility customers.
"The changes that are happening, particularly in California, with the creation of an energy imbalance market by PacifiCorp, the California ISO and the other utilities that are joining, should not be underestimated in terms of its impact on the West," he said. "It will be a very, very significant change in the operating environment, and it has major implications for all of us in the region."
Mainzer also noted the major technology innovations underway in the energy industry, and their potential impacts in the Northwest. One in particular, the ongoing and rapid developments in energy storage technologies, particularly large-scale batteries, will impact how much utilities continue to rely on the West-wide grid of high-voltage transmission lines.
"These are huge issues," Mainzer said. "At Bonneville, we are spending quite a bit of time thinking about these topics and what they mean for the Northwest and particularly our customers, who are gong to be experiencing them on the front lines."
He praised the region's accomplishments in improving energy efficiency and protecting fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin, but he cautioned that continued progress depends on Bonneville's ability to compete in the energy marketplace.
"Everything we do at Bonneville and the region, from energy efficiency and fish and wildlife mitigation to low-income assistance to technology innovations, basically is enabled by one thing, and that's our ability to be cost-competitive today and to remain so in the long term," he said. "That falls apart if we're not running a viable organization, and so I am a bit concerned at the moment about the long-term cost structure of the Bonneville Power Administration."
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