MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 1940.

BONNEVILLE PROJECT

STATEMENT OF DR. PAUL J. RAVER, ADMINISTRATOR, ACCOMPANIED BY JAMES I. METCALF, CHIEF OF THE MARKETING DIVISION; U. J. GENDRON, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT AND BUDGET OFFICER; J. P. ALVEY, OFFICE ENGINEER; R. M. NANCE, SENIOR ACCOUNTANT; AND STANLEY W. CROSTHWAIT, ASSISTANT TO THE COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. You will state your name and official position for the record.

Dr. RAVER. Paul J. Raver, Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. How long have you been in that position?

Dr. RAVER. My appointment was effective on September 16, 1939.

JUSTIFICATION OF ESTIMATES

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Do you care to make a brief statement with reference to your activities?

Dr. RAVER. I would like to submit for the record this statement of the justifications.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. The justifications will be submitted for the record.

(The justification is as follows:)

BONNEVILLE PROJECT

The act of August 20, 1937, directs that surplus energy generated at the Bonneville Dam be disposed of by the Bonneville Power Administrator of the Department of the Interior. In order to make this surplus energy available to areas in the Northwest, transmission and transformation facilities must be provided for that purpose. To accomplish this, the Bonneville Power Administrator is authorized to construct or acquire electric transmission lines or substations, to interconnect the Bonneville power system with other power systems in the area under the terms of the organic act, and to enter into contracts for the sale and interchange of power.

Up to and including the fiscal year 1940, a total of $27,915,000 has been made available to carry out the purposes of the act referred to. Of this amount, $10.750.000 were allotted by the Public Works Administration, and the remainder has been appropriated by Congress. The amounts appropriated by Congress have been divided into two headings; namely, Operation and maintenance, $665,000, and Construction, $16,500,000. The estimates for the fiscal year 1941 include $650,000 under Operation and maintenance and $6,000,000 under Construction.

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

The estimate of $650,000 for operation and maintenance will provide funds for operating the transmission facilities that will be completed and available for the distribution of power during the year beginning July 1, 1940, for the making of system load studies to insure economical operation of the lines, for the development of wholesale and retail data, the negotiation and preparation of contracts for the sale of power, the maintenance of accounting and other records required by the Federal Power Commission and Government accounting procedures, and for general expenses incident to the operation of a Government office. The additional amounts requested under this heading for the fiscal year 1941, over those appropriated for the previous year, are necessitated by the increased number of miles of transmission facilities that will be in operation during the fiscal year 1941 over those that were in operation during the fiscal year 1940.

The first Bonneville high-voltage transmission line (Bonneville-VancouverPortland) was completed and energized on December 1, 1939, and the VancouverEugene line will be completed in the near future. The actual availability of Bonneville power as a result of the completion and energizing of these lines has materially stimulated the demand for power. Power contracts have been signed for the sale of more than 57,000 kilowatts of firm power and additional amounts for surplus energy. It is expected that sales of Bonneville power during the fiscal year 1940 will amount to about $1,000,000. It is further estimated that approximately $2,200,000 worth of power will be sold from the Bonneville project during the fiscal year 1941.

The availability of the energy generated at the Bonneville Dam by means of transmission and transformation facilities provided to carry out the purposes of the act of August 20, 1937, has already resulted in new industries locating in the Northwest and in substantial reductions of power rates to home, farm, and commercial customers of the municipalities which have contracted with the Bonneville Power Administrator for the consumption of the excess energy available from the Bonneville generators. The widespread interest which has resulted from the contracts that have already been entered into for the distribution of Bonneville power has placed on the staff of the Bonneville Power Administrator a demand for information and services considerably beyond the capacity of the present personnel.

On January 3, 1940, the project was delivering power under the following contracts:

Prime power

kilowatts

1 This contract increases to 20,000 kilowatts on June 1, 1940, and also provides for the sale of dump energy to the extent available. The daily maximum demand in kilowatts since the energization of our first line on Dec. 1 is shown below in order to indicate the sales possibilities of this contract:

Portland General Electric Co. contract record for Dec. 1-31, 1939

Net maximum demand-kilowatts:

Net maximum demand-kilowatts:

Dec. 1.

Dec. 2.

Dec. 3.

Dec. 4.

Dec. 5.

26, 700

Dec. 16.

38,800

Dec. 17.

37,500

Dec. 18

38, 300

Dec. 19.

39, 800

Dec. 20.

39, 100

10, 800

34, 700

34, 100

36, 300

Dec. 6.

Dec. 21.

38,800

Dec. 22.

Dec. 23.

Dec. 8

39, 300

Dec. 24.

Dec. 9.

38, 300

38.000

38, 800

29. 100 20,000

Dec. 25.

10, 300

Dec. 26.

39, 800

Dec. 27

Dec. 12.

40, 100

40, 000

Dec. 29.

Dec. 14.

39, 300
38, 300

39, 500

Peak operation
(kilowatts)

Dec. 15

The daily operating record of the generating plant since December 1 is as follows:

Peak operation (kilowatts)

These two tables obviously indicate the need of transmission lines with sufficient capacity to market the power generated.

The estimated length of lines and number of substations expected to be in operation on January 1, 1941, is as follows:

Transmission lines:

460 circuit miles 230 kilovolt steel-tower lines.

650 circuit miles 115 kilovolt wood-pole lines.

500 circuit miles lower voltage subtransmission lines.

Substations (on main power lines):

5 principal substations, three-shift operation.

7 substations, one-shift operation,

2 substations, unattended.

There may be as high as 50 minor unattended substations on the subtransmission lines.

Total estimated substation capacity, 350,000 kilovolt-amperes.

The increases requested in the item for operation and maintenance are due to the fact that 1941 will be the first year in which lines are actually operated for a full period and that several major construction projects will be completed during the year, thus placing in the system lines which will require operation for the first time. A steady growth of operation personnel will be maintained throughout the construction period as new lines and substations are placed in operation. Sufficient personnel must be available to provide adequate service to customers. In the management and performance of the responsibilities placed upon the Administrator by the Bonneville Act it is imperative that the organization be adequately staffed to operate the system, sell power, prepare system-load studies for economical operation of the lines, develop wholesale and retail rate data, and prepare contracts, in addition to the governmental requirements of office procedure.

For these purposes a net appropriation increase of $250,000 is requested for personal services and other objects. The addition personnel will be principally employees engaged on operating and maintenance of the transmission system. Increases have been requested for other objects of expenditure to provide for additional costs in the operation of the lines. This will consist mainly of telephone and telegraph service to provide reliable communication between substations for the operation and maintenance of the transmission lines; travel costs in the operation of line trucks; additional stationery; supplies and material for substation and line operation, and other incidental expenses. As shown above, close to 2,000 circuit miles of line and 16 substations will be in operation during the fiscal year 1941, and these increases are the minimum requirements to provide the necessary funds for the operation of the transmission system.

The estimated revenues for the fiscal year 1941 appear in the following table:

CONSTRUCTION

The sum of $6,000,000 is requested for construction under an item contained in the general Public Works chapter of the 1941 Budget. This construction appropriation is requested in order to carry out the provisions of the act approved August 20, 1937 (Public, 329, 75th Cong., 1st sess.) relating to the Bonneville project on the Columbia River, which is administered through the Department of the Interior.

The items listed under this heading fall in the classification of capital items. These capital estimates will cover the construction of transmission lines, substations, and adjuncts to reach that part of the potential power load that can be handled in the fiscal year 1941.

These estimates were made on the basis of power allocations as provided in the organic act and the distribution of the benefits as widely as it is economically possible, with due consideration being given to the recovery of the capital items with interest thereon, as well as operating and maintenance expenses.

The last session of the Seventy-fifth Congress appropriated three and a half million dollars for initial transmission construction and this was supplemented with a Public Works Administration allotment of $10,750,000.

The first session of the Seventy-sixth Congress appropriated $13,000,000 additional for transmission and substation construction, to be available in the fiscal year 1940. The Budget allowance of $6,000,000 for the fiscal year 1941 will be necessary to provide additional transmission and transformation facilities required in 1941, to handle the generating units authorized and the load that is immediately in sight. It will be noted that the Budget Bureau has approved the carry-over of the unobligated balances from previous construction appropriations and allotments making the same available during the fiscal year 1941. As nearly as could be estimated at the time of the Budget submission, the unobligated balance on July 1, 1940, would be $3,000,000 or less.

The construction items previously estimated and those included in the estimate for the year 1941 will be built into a comprehensive system, having an ultimate plant capacity of 518.400 kilowatts exclusive of interchange capacity from Grand Coulee Dam. Contracts executed and requests for power have been listed in the justification for operation and maintenance expenses. The lines included in the estimates for the fiscal year 1941 have been given due consideration as an instrument of defense in case of emergency, as well as meeting load and economic requirements.

The transmission system of the Bonneville project has been designed to provide federally owned interconnecting high-voltage lines throughout the area, within practical transmission distance of the Bonneville Dam. This system has been designed to provide uninterrupted service to any area within the system and to guarantee a permanent power supply even in the remote possibility of a line failure.

During the fiscal year 1940, the plans for the lines and substations have been changed to meet rapidly changing load conditions, and the estimates presented herein for 1940-41 program are in a form permitting adjustments to meet whatever needs may arise within the limits of the total appropriation. The situation at this time indicates that for several years all power available at the Bonneville Dam will be early marketed.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM UNDER 1941 ESTIMATE AND PRIOR YEAR

APPROPRIATIONS

1. Bonneville-Vancouver line (1939 appropriation, $3,466,582).-The Bonneville-Vancouver line between Bonneville and North Vancouver, Wash., consists of two single-circuit 230-kilovolt lines on the same 300-foot right-of-way. This line transmits power from Bonneville and Grand Coulee to the Portland area and interconnects the Portland load area with power centers to the north. The construction of this line and the preliminary work on the Vancouver substation has been completed from the 1939 congressional appropriation.

2. Chehalis-Seattle, $2,100,000.-This line consists of a single-circuit 230kilovolt steel tower line from the Chehalis substation to a point in the vicinity of Renton, where interconnections are planned with the Seattle and Tacoma municipal systems, a distance of approximately 89 miles. This transmission line is necessary to provide the facility for transmitting Bonneville power to northwestern Washington and to provide the west section of a future second interconnecting loop circuit between Bonneville and Grand Coulee power plants. Construction work is about 15 percent complete on this section.

3. Bonneville-Vancouver substation additions, $1,700,000.-This amount was required to equip the Vancouver substation with the first 75,000 kilovolt-ampere bank of 220/110 kilovolt transformers and to construct the first section of the North Bonneville substation.

4. Substation additions, Willamette Valley, $1,700,000.-This item covers the construction and equipment of the St. Johns and Salem receiving substations on the Vancouver-Eugene 110 kilovolt circuit. The St. Johns substation will be equipped initially with 90,000 kilovolt-ampere transformer capacity to deliver power to utilities and to industries which are expected to locate in this section. The Salem substation will be equipped initially with 30,000 kilovolt-amperecapacity to deliver power to utilities and a subtransmission system serving a number of smaller communities and Rural Electrification Administration. projects.

5. Midway-Ellensburg line and substations, $500,000.-The Midway-Ellensburg line will consist of a single-circuit 115-kilovolt, wood-pole, H-frame construction of approximately 62 miles. This line is necessary to meet the request for service from the city of Ellensburg and the Kittitas County and other prospective Rural Electrification Administration projects, and for several deliveries in the Yakima Valley. Completion of the Yakima and Ellensburg substations will require additional funds. This work is now 5 percent complete. It is estimated that about 60 percent of this project will be completed in the fiscal year 1940 and the balancein 1941.

6. Chehalis-Raymond line, $350,000.--The 45.4-mile section of line between. Chehalis and Raymond, Wash., will supply power at 115 kilovolts to the central region of the coast of Washington. Construction work is about 45 percent complete.

7. Midway-Pasco line, $1,450,000.-The Midway-Pasco line will extend from the 220-kilovolt Midway substation at Vernita, on the Columbia River, to Pasco. Current studies indicate a possible routing via Hanford, to interconnect with existing 110-kilovolt and lower-voltage systems. The Pasco substation will feed a subtransmission system for irrigation pumping and Rural Electrification Administration projects. Extensions from Pasco will serve the southeast Washington and northeast Oregon sections.

8. St. Johns-Tillamook line, $850,000.—This line will extend from St. Johns substation to Tillamook, Oreg.. a distance of 65 miles, and will serve the west coast of Oregon. It is to be a single-circuit 69-kilovolt line. The funds allocated in fiscal year 1940 provide for construction of the 20-mile section of the line between St. Johns and Forest Grove.

9. St. Johns-Astoria line, $750,000.—This line will extend from St. Johns substation (Portland, Oreg.), to Astoria, Oreg., a distance of about 87 miles. It will consist of a single-circuit, 110-kilovolt line built on a 100-foot right-of-way. The purpose of this line is to deliver power to utilities at Astoria and to industries and to supply the requests of irrigation districts along the south bank of the Columbia River. It is about 5 percent complete. Additional funds will be required for substations. This line construction will be carried over into the 1941 fiscal year. 10. Extension and additions to existing main substations, $2,020.000.-This amount will be required to equip the Midway, Chehalis, Astoria, St. Helens, Ellensburg, and South Bonneville substations, the Renton, Yakima, and Hanford switching stations, and to expand the Vancouver substation with a 75,000 kilovolt-ampere bank, and for miscellaneous substantial work. This includes $1,320,000 of new funds required for the 1941 fiscal year.

11. Subtransmission system, $2,000,000.-This amount will be required to construct short branch lines and feeder lines, customers' substations, minor acquisitions, and for miscellaneous construction arising from contracts to deliver power. This includes $1,500,000 of new funds required for the 1941 fiscal

year.

12. Preliminary surveys and designs, for future lines, $500,000.-Provision is made for undertaking preliminary surveys and design work on prospective transmission extensions covering new main transmission circuits and expansion for interconnection with other Federal projects in the region. This work at a relatively small cost will provide the necessary information for decisions at a later date as to the proper program for future transmission construction and for proper Budget presentations and will also be of value for emergency decisions in the event that new power supplies are needed for national-defensepurposes. This also includes research on direct-current transmission. Of this amount $200,000 are new funds required for the 1941 fiscal year.