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 in the early portion of 2026. The Council is also in the process of amending its Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The end of this article has draft timelines for the Ninth Power Plan and the new Fish and Wildlife Program; see below for more information.

In June, Power Division staff reached a key milestone – they completed modeling inputs like a new 20-year load forecast for the Northwest electricity grid. Other inputs include generating resource reference plants, demand-side resource supply curves, fuels price forecasts, and resource adequacy metrics and thresholds, among others. Review all of the Ninth Plan’s completed methodologies and inputs here.

This summer, staff will be transitioning to performing scenario modeling, including conducting market studies and a system-wide needs assessments. This next phase of power planning is expected to run from summer 2025-winter 2026. After that, the Council will be analyzing and discussing the modeling results and developing the Ninth Plan’s recommendations.

The Council is expecting to spend the spring months of 2026 drafting the plan, with the goal of releasing the draft by July 2026 and adopting the final version by the end of the year. It will cover the years 2027-2046, and ensure the Northwest continues to enjoy an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply over that time. Under the Northwest Power Act, the Council reviews the Power Plan within five years of its adoption. The current version is the 2021 Power Plan.

Upcoming Ninth Plan, Fish & Wildlife Program milestones

From now until early 2026, the Power Division is planning to model two scenarios: One will be focused on changing hydrosystem operations, and the second is on resource and transmission risk. The Council will be discussing and finalizing the scope of the hydro ops scenario at the August 12-13 meeting in Portland, so sign up for our monthly newsletter and agenda notification emails for advance notice. Read the presentation and watch the video from June’s meeting for more information about this scenario. The resource and transmission risk scenario will explore uncertainty around resource availability, resource costs, and transmission availability.

Light presented a draft schedule for upcoming milestones in the summer and fall of 2025, as well as winter and spring 2026. Meeting locations for 2026 haven’t been determined yet.

• August (Portland) - Finalizing scope for changing hydro operations scenario;
• September (Eugene) or October (Tamarack Resort in Idaho) - Needs assessment results for changing hydro operations scenario;
• November (Portland) - Market availability studies for new resource and transmission risk scenario;
• December (webinar) - Needs assessment results for new resource and transmission risk scenario;
• January - Primer on scenario results;
• February and March - Scenario modeling results;
• April and May – Developing recommendations for the Ninth Plan’s resource strategy, conservation program elements, and supporting recommendations;
• June – Draft Power Plan chapters
• July – Release draft Ninth Plan for public comment

All of the Council’s meetings are open to the public, and we welcome and invite public participation and engagement from across our four-state region of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana in developing the Ninth Power Plan and amending the Fish and Wildlife Program.

The Council is also in the process of amending and updating its Fish and Wildlife Program. Here is the Program’s draft timeline in 2025 and 2026:

• Public comment on recommendations was completed July 3. Staff and the Council are working to prepare draft amendments in July, August, September, and October;
• A draft of the Program is scheduled to be released by the end of October;
• A public comment period, hearings, and consultations will be held after that in fall 2025;
• Public comment on the draft amendments will be received until early January of 2026;
• The Council and Fish and Wildlife Division staff will spend spring 2026 working on developing the final amendments.
• The goal is to adopt the final, amended Program in May 2026, which would be two months before the draft Ninth Power Plan is finalized and released to the public in July.