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I. SUMMARY Western Area Power Administration (Western) is distributing this brochure to provide information on the proposed adjustment of Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) transmission and power rates. Public information and comment forums will be held to provide additional information and to hear from interested persons. After consultation and comment periods and review of oral and written comments, the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy will announce a rate decision. If the decision is to adjust rates, the new rates will be placed in effect on an interim basis, and will be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a final decision. Authorization of the CRSP on April 11, 1956 by Public law 84-485 initiated the comprehensive development of water resources of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Power was authorized "as an incident" to other project purposes. Initial generation began in 1963, and with subsequent additions, the present capability is 1543 MW. This is expected to increase to 1913 MW by fiscal year (FY) 1991. Public law 84-485 provides that power revenues must pay all annual power operation, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) costs and all annual storage unit irrigation OM&R costs except those paid by the municipal and industrial (M&I) water users, and must repay all power investment costs with interest in 50 years, all storage unit irrigation investment costs in 50 years except those paid by the M&I water users, and all participating project irrigation investment costs in 50 years from the end of any development periods, except those paid by the irrigation and M&I water users. Power revenues also must pay the salinity control construction and OM&R costs which are allocated to the Upper Colorado River Basin to comply with Public law 93-320. Power repayment studies are used to determine whether power revenues are sufficient to pay all costs within the prescribed time periods. The CRSP repayment study for FY 1981 using existing rates (current power repayment study) shows that existing rates are insufficient to pay these costs. The historical as well as the present and proposed transmission and power rates are as follows: