ments over Western's FY 1986 request is attributable to the continuing shift of Western's administrative and general

expenses from the construction activity to the O&M activity, price increases for goods and services, higher costs of

maintaining a power system at an acceptable industry-wide level of reliability and safety, and replacement and addition of equipment and transmission lines.

of the FY 1987 program total, $68.5 million or 79 percent is for regular transmission system operation and maintenance expenses. This includes classified and wage board employee salaries, travel and transportation, rents, communications, utilities, materials and supplies, data processing, and administrative and general expenses.

In addition, $16.1 million or 19 percent is requested for power system replacements and additions necessary to maintain and improve system reliability, stability, and operational efficiency. This includes the purchase of telemetering, supervisory control, microwave, radio and protective relaying equipment, circuit breakers and transformers; the replacement and disposal of equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls; the inspection of wood poles and the replacement of wood-pole transmission structures that have exceeded their useful lives; and the replacement of the telephone and data systems at Western's Headquarters and the Montrose District Office.

Hoover Consolidation

The Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984 authorized the uprating program at the Hoover Power Plant and modified the provisions of the General Consolidated Power Marketing Criteria or Regulations for Boulder City Area Projects. In order to meet these criteria, the existing Hoover Switchyard facilities will be modified and/or removed where possible so that the Hoover Power Plant units will tie directly to Mead Substation. Mead Substation will then

become the delivery point for Hoover power. Field data, design, and circuit breaker and transformer procurement will be initiated during FY 1987 for Mead Substation and for transmission line modifications.

Public participation continues in developing the general regulations for the charges for the sale of power from the Boulder Canyon Project.

Marketing Plan Status

Considerable progress was made in the development of several marketing plans during this past year. I am pleased to report that criteria for two major marketing efforts have recently become final, and allocations pursuant to a third marketing effort have also been completed.

Final marketing criteria have been completed for the Western Division of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program and the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, as well as for the Colorado River Storage Project, which will be integrated with the Collbran and Rio Grande Projects.

Contingent capacity and associated energy available from the uprate of existing Boulder Canyon Project generating units has been allocated to the State of Arizona, the State of Nevada, and to nine cities in the State of California. The final allocation, published in the Federal Register on November 20, 1985, will serve as a basis for contract negotiations with allottees in the

months to come.

Fuel Displacement Activity

Western's fuel displacement activity (previously called the Oil Conservation Program) resulted in the displacement of the equivalent of approximately 7,701,810 megawatt hours of energy in

1985.

This is an increase of over 500,000 equivalent barrels of

oil compared to 1984. Through this program, Western sells energy to utilities which would otherwise generate with more expensive nonrenewable resources, such as coal or oil.

Conservation and Renewable Energy

Western's customer conservation and renewable energy (C&RE) program was amended in FY 1985 to comply with Title II of the Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984. This action placed increased emphasis on the responsibility of Western's long-term firm-power customers to develop and implement effective C&RE programs as a condition of the firm power sales contract. Conversely, the need for technical assistance by our customers has also risen and has placed a greater emphasis on Western's customer service function as it relates to the changing conservation and renewable energy technologies. The customers' needs are being served in the form of equipment loans, cost-shared developmental studies, direct technical assistance, technical workshops, and

C&RE-related technical resource publications.

The total C&RE budget to administer the contractual provisions and facilitate the development of effective customer programs for FY 1987 remains at $3 million (including $1.6 million of new budget authority). Western's customer C&RE program is based upon a strategy of cost-effective energy conservation measures combined with the development of renewable energy resources where economically feasible.

Status of Water Conditions in Western's Marketing Area

Based on the February 1986 "Water Supply Outlook for the Western United States" published by the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce, major river basins in the Western United States should produce below-normal to slightly above-normal flows this spring. The above-normal February precipitation should substantially increase this outlook.

The current 1986 supply outlook is for above-normal runoff in California in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and North Coastal (i.e., Trinity) River Basins. Although precipitation since October was below normal, recent storms have increased reservoir storage and runoff projections. The projected water conditions should result in above-normal energy output from the CVP hydropower facilities.

The Missouri River Basin can generally expect slightly below-normal inflows and normal releases during water year 1986. The North and South Platte River Basins are forecast to have above-normal runoff. The Yellowstone River Basin is forecast to have near normal runoff. The combined annual runoff for the Missouri River Basin is expected to be near the long-term normal runoff. Current mainstem Missouri River storage remains about 5 million acre-feet below the desirable carryover storage target at this time of the year.

The water supply outlook for the Colorado River Basin is for above-normal runoff for the fourth consecutive year.

Reservoir

storage remains high. The April to July inflow forecast for Lake Powell, made early in February, was 9.5 million acre-feet or 127 percent of the 20-year average inflow. Subsequent February precipitation was above normal and, as a result, Colorado River Storage Project revenues again should sufficiently exceed expenses to allow substantial returns to the U.S. Treasury to repay investments.

PURCHASE POWER AND WHEELING

The total FY 1987 purchase power and wheeling program request is $113.7 million, including $76.7 million of new budget authority and application of prior balances of $37 million. In addition, Western has other financing amounting to $91.2 million from net billing, bill crediting, and nonappropriation transfers. This request provides for the purchase and wheeling of

power to meet existing contractual commitments and for Western's participation in the Fuel Displacement Activity.

The increase of $41.2 million in the total program request is primarily due to Western's purchase of additional power from Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin) in FY 1987 to help meet CVP power delivery obligations. This will be the first full year of implementing the contract between Western and Basin for delivery of 185 MW of power. Western will reduce purchases from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in FY 1987 due to transmission limitations and BPA policy with regard to Northwest. This will decrease nonappropriation transfers with BPA that have offset appropriation requirements in the past.

power sales.

Bill Crediting

Western is implementing a bill crediting process that reduces the amount of appropriated funds needed to meet the CVP purchase power and wheeling requirements. Under contracts negotiated with several major CVP customers, Western will determine each month the amounts those customers will pay directly to Western's power suppliers. In return, Western will credit the customers' CVP power bills in an amount equal to the customers' payment to the suppliers. The amount which can be bill credited is limited to the amount of revenue which Western would otherwise receive from those customers and by the amount of the bills received from Western's power suppliers.

When the FY 1987 budget was prepared, we assumed bill crediting of $33 million in FY 1986 and $36 million in FY 1987. However, higher levels of bill crediting may be achievable, possibly as high as $50-60 million a year. Although annual appropriation requirements are reduced under this process, a corresponding portion of customer receipts that would normally