Paper Topic

I plan to base my paper on Richard White's Organic Machine. In that book, He discusses the failure of the Washington Public Power Supply System. The failure of the WPPSS remains the largest government bond default in the history of the United States.  The fall of the WPPSS is an example of overzealous government intrusion in the affairs of the Electricity Suppliers and overconfidence in nuclear power for the Pacific Northwest. 

Two of the primary sources i will be using are:

1. The Northwest Power and Conservation Act of 1980- An act of the federal government requiring the users of the Columbia to seek alternative methods of producing energy.  Also required that extensive conservation measures be taken eliminating the need for extra generation capacity that the WPPSS was going to produce. 

2.  The Financial Crisis Confronting Nuclear Power in the Pacific Northwest. A Congressional Research Service report written in 1981 explaining the situation as it stood in the Pacific Northwest during that time.