Extreme Weather Outages in Texas Prompt Questions About Grid Reliability in the Northwest

The Council’s Power Committee met Friday, Oct. 23, and discussed a new timeline for the Ninth Power Plan that includes releasing a second draft, potentially in December.

At October’s meeting in Donnelly, Idaho, the Council heard presentations about the state of the economy in the Pacific Northwest and nationally, as well as how utilities and electric co-operatives are planning resource development to meet growing demands for electricity in their service territories.

The pace of the Pacific Northwest’s acquisition of energy efficiency is accelerating compared with recent years. At its September meeting, the Council reviewed the 2025 Regional Conservation Progress report, which found that the region acquired 182 average megawatts in cost-effective efficiency last year – a 14% increase from the year prior.

Demand response is an important and growing resource on the Northwest’s electricity grid. At August’s Council meeting, leaders from Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy, and Opower presented on their strategies to bolster demand response in the Pacific Northwest in upcoming years.