WSPC07545

• File Number: 8200.500
• Description: Colorado River - Colorado River Basin - Colorado River Basin General Strategy
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 9/1/1984
• Title: Governors Urged to Drop Plan to 'Tax' Power Revenues
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: News Article/Press Release

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L'l;:':' 0 ill }JI w~'\.
,\ Hydro Study Group cstJblished
l;y the WCblerll Governors Associa-
tiO:1 !n r~vicw is..<;\lcS with respect
to fi/:andng water Pl'0jcCts with iiydro
revenues from Federal projects
has ~ublllittcd i1.3 staff report to the
Governors.
Th(> Staff report was delivered Lo
the Western Governors at .) closed
meeUng .July 29, at the National
Governors Association meeting in
N;lch"jJle.
To \'isibly cxprcs..."i concern about
l,ropo:;"ls to increase chClr~es for
Fcrlcr:d hydropowcr to [und new
wal('r projects, :\tkl-Wcst led a group
of preference customers to lhe
Western Governors meeting. Those
Jttcnding bel:iidcs :-'Iid,\Vcsl cxccu-

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7iS. Utll('rs, from left, \\i,'fldell J. GClrwood, then l!Xl.'cutl'..'C vIce pn'slc1l'/ll uJ 1'rI3IUlu.
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~ r"'!o'.d
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to Drop Plan
Revenues

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tive director Fred Simonton nf.d :'IIid-
West Counsel, Ed Weinberg were
Lor;:n Zingmark, East HiveI'; K<.'11
Z:cj:!lcr, Basin ElL'clric; Bob Gustad,
Tn-St~te; Ted l{<lmpton, Intermoun-
tain Consumers Power Association;
Chris Gibbs, S:\l! River Project and
Ruth Gonre, APPA.
PHEFEHE~CE HEPS 1~\'ITEIl
"OUI" ['resence al Ihe Govcr-
nors' Il1trting ill .\'ash\'iIIc made H
\cn' rica I" (0 {hUll that wc canllot
agl:cc to \\'f'akellil1g' of !J1"f'fcrC'llec'
01' chang:ing of cost-h:l~('d pricin~ of fed-
ernl poner." Simonton ..aid,
"I am delighted the Wcsl('rn Go\'-
{'rnor~ in ;\8shville agreed 10 invite
rcprescntali\'c~ of :\lid-West,
CHEDA, APPA .ll1d ~IU~CA to meet
wi~h them on October 1, in
Til.:oma, Washington, not only to ex-
r,ress our concern ;Jbout the idea of
a hydro powr:!r "tax" (surcharge) to
raise revenues to pro\'ldc water
project fut<.mc:ing, bLl to have input
in the discussioll of policies
go....erning hydro re....enues and water
deveI0prncnt," Simonton said.
"I am disll..irbcd at reports thr.t
Josephine CL:trk, a mem-
ber ur the Western Go\'crnors
Af.sociation staif told the :\lissouri
Basin States r\..~oCi<ltion meeting in
Cheyenr:e a month a!;o lhal the
status quo on hydro-electric rates
was not acceptable, und the need
existed to lmpron.~ fair:1::.>}:i; of dis-
tribution ci benefits in the wes-
tern rcglOll, resulting in a sharing (l[

hvdroelectric.: rcvenues with l1H'
states or a surcharge on hydroelec'
tric rates tu be returned to till'
states as appro\'cd by Congress," he
said.
COLOHAOO SUi.CIL\HGE PLA:\
Colorado is proposing to the
Western Governors a plan to add a
one cent per kwh state surcharge to
the cost of federal power, The
idea was discus.<;ca al the Western
.Govcrnors meeting in Palm
Springs, California in i\Iay.
The surcharge would be
aimed at ri1ising revenues to pro.
vide \\'nt~r project financing,
The Colorado proposal aims at
fedcral legisI.1tion amending the
Itl56 Colorado Hiv('f Storage Pl'ojec..:t
Act to make CIi.SP power revenues
payable di1'l."Ctly to the Upper Divi-
sion states.
The revenues to finallce
water project construction under
the Color~Hlo scheme would come
from three x>urccs:
1. A change in current ratc settin~
procedures which would permit
the channeling of about 2l.l mills
out of current revenues from
1'lI\\'cr SJles into an upper ilasin
watt:'r development fund;
2. A uniform surch<lrge of 5 mills per
Kilowatt hour would be imposed
on all purel. .::t':- of casp power:
3. A diffuentinl surcharge would
be imposed upon the purchaser
('onlillll('d
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