News

The Council will welcome two new Oregon Members at its March 11-12 meeting: Margaret (Margi) Hoffmann and Chuck Sams. Gov. Tina Kotek appointed Hoffmann and Sams, and the Oregon Senate has confirmed their appointments to the Council.

In February, the Council learned the sad news that John Harrison, a member of the Public Affairs Department for 31 years until he retired in 2022, had passed away. At February’s meeting, General Counsel John Shurts and Council Member Jeff Allen of Idaho gave remarks honoring Harrison.

At February’s Council meeting, Power Planning Director Jennifer Light explained how staff are approaching their analysis for developing the Ninth Northwest Power Plan. This included key scenarios, points of uncertainty, as well as modeling assumptions, and a preview of how it will unfold in 2025 and 2026.

At January’s Council meeting, senior BPA officials presented the results of their 2024 Resource Program, a planning exercise to assess what conservation and generation resources BPA may need to add in the near future, as well as early thinking for the agency’s 2026 Resource Program.

At January’s meeting, Power Director Jennifer Light and General Counsel John Shurts provided the Council with a roadmap to the upcoming process to developing the Ninth Northwest Power Plan and the major steps required by the Northwest Power Act.

The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement represents a series of commitments between the federal government and regional entities.

At its January meeting, the Council voted to recommend that Bonneville fund $19M in requests for nonrecurring maintenance of fish screens in FY2025-FY2027.

Staff presented progress on the Fish and Wildlife Program, including tracking positive trends in total abundance in the Columbia River Basin and an increase in salmon and steelhead migrating past Bonneville Dam. 

Power Division staff are currently working on an updated load forecast for the Northwest power system – including data centers, chip fabrication facilities, and the tech sector – and expect to have it ready by spring 2025. At its December meeting, the Council convened a panel of experts to discuss the energy needs of data centers, including what potential they may or may not have to be efficient and flexible.

Power Division Director Jennifer Light recently sat down with Olympia-based public affairs network TVW to discuss the Council’s role in regional power planning as Washington state navigates decarbonization changes while ensuring the Pacific Northwest’s power system stays adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable. The episode is now airing.