BPA may charge extra for buying additional power

Herald staff

Demand from utilities that recently signed new 10-year wholesale power contracts with the Bonneville Power Administration is so strong that the agency is talking about a 15 percent charge to cover the cost of purchasing additional power to augment its supply, officials said Wednesday.

Paul Norman, BPA senior vice president, said the federal agency is proposing the charge on wholesale rates that go into effect Oct. 1, 2001. The surcharge could affect Snohomish County PUD customers, although how much is not known. PUD commissioners got their first look at the budget for 2001 on Tuesday and will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 21 to continue their discussions. Action on local rates is not expected until early next year, when the PUD expects to have more detailed information on Bonneville’s prices.

Alitalia to buy 777s: Alitalia, Italy’s main airline, will purchase six Boeing 777-200ERs and has an option to buy six more of the Everett-made planes, the company said Wednesday. However, the airline is dropping plans to buy five 747-400s and take an option for three others. A value for the purchase was not announced.

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EvergreenBank reports earnings: Seattle-based EvergreenBank, which has a branch in Lynnwood, reported a 12 percent increase in earnings for the first nine months of the year. The company reported earnings of $858,000 through Sept. 30.

Federated reports loss: Federated Department Stores Inc., the parent of Bon Marche, on Wednesday reported a third quarter loss of $668 million, or $3.32 per share, compared with profits of $123 million, or 56 cents per share, for the same period last year. Federated operates more than 400 department stores in 33 states, under the names Bloomingdale’s, The Bon Marche, Burdines, Goldsmith’s, Lazarus, Macy’s, Rich’s and Stern’s.