BPA Anti-trust???

I believe there is a potential "anti-trust" issue brewing at BPA. I know BPA
is subject to different rules than most other entities, however, I have
sought to understand how they are acquiring power from customers, or allowing
some customers to install small scale generation and BPA buys that power,
without it hitting the federal transmission system.

It may not be an issue in as much as Enron, or other marketing entities, may
not want to compete with BPA to purchase power from these small generation
units.

However, if we were interested in buying this energy that's too bad because
we can't get access to it.

BPA's Power Business Line (PBL) is making arrangements with local utilities
and with those utilities industrial customers through which the customer
installs small generation units and the PBL is purchasing the output. In this
instance the customers load is not reduced. BPA is concerned that if the
customer reduces load they (BPA) will lose revenue, as will the host utility
(distribution costs). So the concept is that the generator simply continue to
buy "priority firm" energy through the host utility and they sell the output
of the small generator to BPA. But, because it takes so long to get through
BPA's Transmission Business Line's (TBL's) interconnection and system study
process, the PBL is simply going around that process. This treats the output
as though it is going to BPA's grid without reducing the host utilities load.
However, the PBL is not seeking to "interconnect" these loads with the
federal grid because it takes too long to do that.

If Enron wants to buy power from a small generator, either Enron or the host
utility or the industrial customer will have to go through BPA's extensive
analysis process. In one instance I am aware of, the industrial customer
would like to get a market price for the output of their generator but BPA is
telling them they will only pay a price much lower than market ($90-110 MWhr)
for the next year. The generator feels they are held hostage to BPA's offer
because they are not able to get onto the federal transmission network.

Seems like anti-trust to me. Or, at a minimum, self-dealing which I believe
FERC has sought to avoid.

Jeff