(a) Allocations to new customers from the project-specific resource pools established under § 905.32 shall be determined through separate public processes in each project's marketing area. New customers receiving an allocation must execute a long-term firm power contract to receive the allocated power and are required to comply with the IRP requirements in this part. Contracts with new customers shall expire on the same date as firm power contracts with all other customers of a project.

(b) To be eligible for an allocation, a potential new customer must be a preference entity, as defined in Reclamation law, within the currently established marketing area for a project.

(c) Entities that desire to purchase power from Western for resale to consumers, including municipalities, cooperatives, public utility districts and public power districts, must have utility status. Native American tribes are not subject to this requirement. Utility status means that the entity has responsibility to meet load growth, has a distribution system, and is ready, willing, and able to purchase power from Western on a wholesale basis for resale to retail consumers. To be eligible to apply for power available from a project's initial resource pool, those entities that desire to purchase Western power for resale to consumers must have attained utility status by December 31, 1996, for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program—Eastern Division, and by September 30, 2000, for the Loveland Area Projects. To be eligible to apply for power from subsequent resource pool increments, these entities must have attained utility status no later than 3 years prior to availability of the incremental addition to the resource pool. Deadlines for attaining utility status for other projects will be established at a later date.