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<br />01351 <br /> <br />; <br /> <br />UI<A~ I <br /> <br />tions take place in the Upper Basin States. It is not likely that <br />this small impact on pov~r rates would constrain ~ater depletions <br />(59 FR 55106). <br /> <br />The Commission believes the CRSP Act directs who should bear the "small <br /> <br />impact" represented by the 0.32 mills/kWh: The Secretary of the Interior is <br /> <br />to ensure that the rate is high enough to ensure full repayment, so the power <br /> <br />rate must include these 0.32 mills/kWh. This seems to be a small price to pay <br /> <br />to comply with the law. The Commission takes no comfort in Western's state- <br /> <br />ment here and at other places in its Rate Order that "power rates could (and <br /> <br />would) be adjusted to assure full repayment, II Since Western and its customers <br /> <br />are balking at the "small" increase needed to assure full repayment now, the <br /> <br />Commission has no reason to believe either that Western would implement or <br /> <br />that the power customers would accept an increase in the power rate in the <br /> <br />future necessitated by water depletions. The Commission urges the FERC to <br /> <br />remand Western's provisional rates and order Western to use the States. <br /> <br />depletion data unaltered, as reflected in Reclamation's energy and capacity <br /> <br />studies, without the artificial cap at 2010 and reflecting ultimate full <br /> <br />development. <br /> <br />1983 Agreement <br /> <br />The Commission believes that Western is applying the 1983 Agreement <br /> <br />incorrectly in its rate-setting process in three different respects. First, <br /> <br />Western is capping depletions at the 2010 level in a way that was never <br /> <br />intended by Western and Reclamation at the time the 1983 Agreement was <br /> <br />negotiated. Second, Western is applying the requirements of the 1983 Agree- <br /> <br />ment to State and private water projects, in direct conflict with the terms of <br /> <br />the Agreement itself. Third, Western is violating the express terms of the <br /> <br />1983 Agreement as applied to authorized Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) <br /> <br />5 <br />