Rate Cases & Tariff Proceedings Overview

BPA  establishes rates for power and transmission services in a rate proceeding, a formal evidentiary hearing process under Section 7(i) of the Northwest Power Act. Prior to the initiation of the rate case, workshops are held to review and discuss upcoming rate case issues .

BPA follows the requirements in Section 9 of its Open Access Transmission Tariff to set or modify the terms associated with transmission, interconnection, and ancillary and control area services across the Federal Columbia River Transmission System.

BPA’s Rules of Procedure govern BPA’s power and transmission rate hearings conducted under section 7(i) of the Northwest Power Act. In 2018, BPA updated the Rules of Procedure for rate cases, and expanded them to accommodate Section 212 transmission terms and conditions proceedings.

As prescribed in section 4.2 and 4.3 of the Tiered Rate Methodology (TRM), the Rate Period High Water Marks (RHWM) are set by BPA in the RHWM Process prior to each power rate proceeding. The RHWM sets the maximum planned amount of power that a customer may purchase each year of the Rate Period under Priority Firm Tier 1 Rates, and other values used to calculate rates.