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The Council is developing the next Northwest Power Plan to ensure an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the region.

The Council is developing its next power plan. Throughout the process, we’ll keep you informed on important milestones, the methods and analysis, and other work as it becomes available.

Scenario analysis

Scenario analysis is one way to account for uncertainty in the power planning landscape by evaluating the potential impacts of changing key assumptions. The Ninth Plan will have two priority scenarios with a range of sensitivities to be explored:

New Resource and Transmission Risk (and video, Feb 2025)
Broad scenario to explore uncertainty around resource availability, resource costs, and transmission availability
- Finalizing Scope of the New Resource and Transmission Risk Scenario (and video, Sept 2025)

Changing Hydro Operations (and video, Aug 2025)
Exploring the implication for power system needs with uncertainty around future hydro operations.

Methodology primers

These primers summarize planned methodologies for developing the Ninth Plan.

Load Forecast (and video, Aug 2024)
The Council is required to develop a 20-year demand forecast as part of its plan. This presentation walks through the updated approach for the Ninth Plan.
New Resource Options – These presentations describe the Council’s approach to developing new resource options to be considered in the plan:
- Conservation (and video, July 2024)
- Demand Response (and video, Sep 2024)
- Distributed Solar (and video, Aug 2024)
- Generating Resources (and video, Aug 2024)
Council’s Modeling Framework:
- Needs Assessment (and video, April 2025)
- Regional Strategy Analysis Toolset (OptGen/SDDP) (and video, April 2025)
- Representing Markets in Council Modeling (and video, Oct 2024)
  An overview of the current market options and the Ninth Plan will seek to represent any market decisions in its modeling.
- Primer on Market Availability Study (and video, April 2025)

News & updates

Draft process timeline

Ninth Plan technical elements

Forecasts, resources, and other assumptions

More resources

Committees
Kickoff presentation and video
Preliminary issue paper on Ninth Plan development
Power planning overview and all previous plans

Ninth Plan news

Aug 29, 2025

Council staff to analyze power system impacts of different hydrosystem operations

Over the next two months, Council Power Division staff will be analyzing a set of hydro operations for the upcoming processes of amending the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program and preparing to develop the cost-effective resource strategy for the Ninth Power Plan.

Aug 29, 2025

Council staff will analyze potential for emerging technologies in energy efficiency for Ninth Plan

At the August meeting in Portland, Power Division staff outlined methods for evaluating the potential for advancements in energy efficiency to include in the energy efficiency supply curves for the Ninth Plan. The Ninth Power Plan will cover the period from 2026-2046, and ensure that the Pacific Northwest’s power system continues to be adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable over those 20 years.

Jul 24, 2025

Upcoming timelines for developing the Ninth Power Plan, amending the Fish and Wildlife Program in summer & fall 2025, early months of 2026

At July’s Council meeting, Power Planning Director Jennifer Light explained the upcoming process for developing the Ninth Power Plan this summer and fall, as well as the early portion of 2026. The Council is also in the process of amending its Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program with the goal of having a draft ready this fall and a final verison adopted in spring 2026.

Jun 27, 2025

Ninth Power Plan reaches key milestone, and Council reviews preliminary energy efficiency, demand response potential

At the Council’s June meeting in Missoula, Power Planning Director Jennifer Light gave an update on the process of developing the Ninth Plan while noting that a key milestone has been reached. She also led a discussion of a hydro operations scenario, and Power Division staff presented the preliminary, total potential for energy efficiency and demand response for the Ninth Plan.

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Ninth Power Plan

Integrating energy and the environment in the Columbia River Basin

See what the Council is up to.

Explore News By Topic

The Council works to protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin. Its Fish & Wildlife Program guides project funding by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The Fish and Wildlife Program

Independent Review Groups

Forums and Workgroups

Topics

The Council develops a plan, updated every five years, to assure the Pacific Northwest of an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply.

The Northwest Power Plan

Technical tools and models

Advisory Committees