PORT ANGELES — City Hall is not backing down from a dispute over Bonneville Power Administration’s residential exchange program.
The Port Angeles City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday, with Deputy Mayor Don Perry absent, to continue to pursue litigation against the federal power provider through the Western Public Agencies Group.
The city and other WPAG members are pursuing the litigation after rejecting a proposed settlement with BPA for the program, which subsidizes power to private utilities that don’t have access to the agency’s cheap hydropower.
A settlement was recently approved by more than 75 percent of BPA’s members. The city, believing it falls too short, voted against it.
The settlement — drafted by private utilities and a handful of large public utilities — previously failed when it came with a requirement that 90 percent of the utilities support it.
In response, its supporters drafted the second settlement with the lower threshold. BPA has said it will adopt it.
The city can continue to pursue the issue in court since it voted against the settlement.
How the city settles on the issue will impact utility rates for the next 17 years, city staff have said.
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