I guess this means we've really arrived! I doubt if I merit the status of
nabob, but I think it's a little better than being a pundit, but not quite
as desirable as being a muckamuck.  Actually, I think they only said "nabob"
because it went so well with "northwest."

Honorary titles aside, we are working with the ISO to make sure that the
analysis takes into account the circumstances of the bids they have studied.
We believe that the Department of Market Analysis didn't fully understand
the context for bidding, particularly for ancillary services.  We are
looking forward to receiving clarification from the ISO.

Don Wolfe

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Douglass [mailto:Douglass@ArterHadden.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2001 7:09 AM
To: Barbara_Klemstine@apsc.com; Vicki_Sandler@apses.com; berry@apx.com;
dcazalet@apx.com; ed@apx.com; billr@calpine.com; jackp@calpine.com;
gavaughn@duke-energy.com; rjhickok@duke-energy.com; gtbl@dynegy.com;
jmpa@dynegy.com; jdasovic@enron.com; susan_j_mara@enron.com;
Tamara_Johnson@enron.com; curt.Hatton@gen.pge.com; foothill@lmi.net;
camiessn@newwestenergy.com; jcgardin@newwestenergy.com;
jsmollon@newwestenergy.com; rsnichol@newwestenergy.com;
nam.nguyen@powersrc.com; Curtis_L_Kebler@reliantenergy.com;
Roger.Pelote@williams.com
Cc: dvwolfe@bpa.gov
Subject: ISO Strikes Again


Good morning, thought the following from today's Electricity Daily might be
of interest:

Northwest Nabobs Upset With Gouging Charges
Pacific Northwest power nabobs--accustomed to a long, gentlemanly and
mutually beneficial relationship with California utilities--are mighty upset
that some California fingers are pointing at them. A confidential report of
the California Independent System Operator obtained by the Los Angeles Times
claims that the Bonneville Power Administration and two other publicly owned
utilities--B.C. Hydro's marketing arm, Powerex, and the Los Angeles
Department of Water & Power--are among entities that drove up California
energy costs by selling power at unreasonable prices. Cal-ISO contended that
BPA made more than $30 million in excessive profits between May and November
of last year and ranked fifth among all sellers in making extra money.

The Cal-ISO accusation uncorked a furious reaction from Bonneville, which
believes it has gone out of its way to be helpful. "We are very upset about
it," said Steve Oliver, a Bonneville vice president, who last week met with
officials of the Cal-ISO to complain about the report. "We had tried to be
good neighbors." Tacoma Power chief Mark Crisson echoed Oliver's concern.
Crisson called it a "cheap shot" and told the Tacoma News Tribune that it
could hurt relationships between the two regions.

BPA insisted that the California report was flawed and asked the ISO to take
another look at the facts. BPA said it had offered to sell power at
below-market rates and that, at times, Cal-ISO was so desperate for
electricity that it paid much higher prices. In any case, said BPA, any
money it made on the sales was quickly eaten up when it turned to the spot
market to cover its own customers' demand. Bonneville posted a five-page
rebuttal to the Cal-ISO report on its website last week.

BPA noted that it "is suffering severe financial impacts from the California
market breakdown" and would actually benefit from lower prices. "We were
taken off guard by this," said BPA's Oliver. "We had come in with low bids
and then accepted market prices or the rates they actually suggested. We met
with them. We told them to call if there was a problem. No one ever called
us."
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has also raised doubts about the
methodology the ISO used to calculate the alleged overcharges.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Now personally, I hadn't heard the word "nabob" since Spiro Agnew called the
press, "nattering nabobs of negativism."  Don Wolfe...how do you feel about
being a nabob?

Dan