In 1995, a number of cooperatives from the original PNGC formed a buying group to take advantage of open access to transmission service and emerging wholesale bulk markets. In 1996, PNGC became the nation’s first electric cooperative to receive a power marketing license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This gave PNGC the ability to purchase and resell power at wholesale.
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Contracts
10 Year Contract
On behalf of its members, PNGC Power entered into a 10-year contract to purchase most of its power from BPA, starting in 2001.
- Part of this power was in the form of a more traditional “Block” of power from BPA
- The other portion was a “Slice” of the total power capabilities of the Federal Base Systems (FBS)
Under this contract, we purchased additional power from wholesale markets when needed. When available Slice power exceeded our own power requirements, we marketed the surplus.
20 Year Contract
In 2008, PNGC Power entered into a 20-year contract with BPA on behalf of its members. We are taking BPA’s Load Following product to meet members’ wholesale power needs.
The contract:
- Began October 1, 2011
- Secures the benefits of the cost-based federal system for our members
- Forms the basis for additional resource acquisition
- Achieves greater certainty of the federal power supply – a key benefit