16 U.S.C. § 839a — Definitions

As used in this chapter: (1) “Acquire” and “acquisition” do not authorize the Administrator to construct or own an electric-generating facility under this chapter or another law. (2) “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. (3) “Conservation” means reducing electric-power consumption through greater efficiency in energy use, production, or distribution. (4)(A) “Cost-effective” means that a measure or resource is forecast to be reliable and available when needed and to meet or reduce customers’ consumers’ demand at an estimated incremental system cost no greater than the least-cost similarly reliable and available alternative, or combination of alternatives. (B) “System cost” is the estimated direct cost over the measure’s or resource’s effective life, including applicable distribution and transmission, waste disposal, end-of-cycle, fuel and projected fuel-increase costs, and quantifiable environmental costs and benefits directly attributable to it as determined under a Council methodology in the plan or, without a plan, by the Administrator. (C) Expected savings or production must account for projected realization and plant factors, including appropriate history of similar measures or resources. (D) A conservation measure is not treated as more costly than a nonconservation resource unless its incremental system cost exceeds 110 percent of the other resource’s cost. (5) “Consumer” means an end user of electric power. (6) “Council” means, unless otherwise specified, members appointed to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council under section 839b. (7) “Customer” means one contracting to buy power from the Administrator under this chapter. (8) “Direct service industrial customer” means an industrial customer contracting with the Administrator for power for direct consumption. (9) “Electric power” means peaking capacity, energy, or both. (10) “Federal base system resources” are (A) Federal Columbia River Power System hydroelectric projects, (B) resources acquired under long-term contracts in force December 5, 1980, and (C) resources acquired to replace capability reductions in (A) and (B). (11) “Indian tribe” means an Indian tribe or band located wholly or partly in the region with a governing body recognized by the Interior Secretary. (12) “Major resource” means one with planned capability over 50 average megawatts and, if acquired by the Administrator, acquired for more than five years; it excludes a resource under section 838i(b)(6). (13) “New large single load” is a load associated with a new, existing, or expanded facility that was not contracted for or committed to, as determined by the Administrator, by a public body, cooperative, investor-owned utility, or Federal agency customer before September 1, 1979, and that increases that customer’s power requirements by 10 average megawatts or more in any consecutive 12-month period. (14) “Pacific Northwest,” “region,” or “regional” means (A) Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana west of the Continental Divide, and portions of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming in the Columbia River drainage basin; and (B) contiguous areas, not more than 75 air miles from the area in subparagraph (A), that are part of the service area of a rural electric cooperative customer served by the Administrator on December 5, 1980, and that has a distribution system serving both within and outside the region. (15) “Plan” means the Regional Electric Power and Conservation plan and amendments adopted under this chapter, applying to Administrator actions as specified here. (16) “Renewable resource” means solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, or similar energy used to generate power or reduce a consumer’s power needs, including by direct application. (17) “Reserves” means power needed to prevent specified planning or operating shortages for firm-power customers, available to the Administrator (A) from resources or (B) from contractual rights to interrupt, curtail, or otherwise withdraw, under specific contract provisions, portions of the electric power supplied to customers. (18) “Residential use” or “residential load” means usual residential, apartment, seasonal-dwelling, and farm electric uses, but for farm irrigation and pumping only the first 400 horsepower in a monthly billing period. (19) “Resource” means (A) electric power, including actual or planned generating capability, or (B) actual or planned load reduction from direct renewable-resource use or conservation. (20) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Energy.