News

The Council recently hosted a tour near Kalispell, Montana for representatives from the Northwest’s congressional delegation.

Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of the Public Power Council, briefed the Council on its current key initiatives.

Jeff Cook briefed the Council on BPA’s plans to build significant transmission infrastructure to meet growing Northwest loads.

Jesse Steele, executive director for the Grande Ronde Model Watershed Project, gave an update on its accomplishments. It’s one of seven umbrella projects supported by the Council’s fish and wildlife program.

The changing energy landscape demands new resources and technologies to keep the grid – with its influx of weather-dependent, intermittent resources – reliable and adequate.

The Columbia Basin Partnership estimates that 35% of historical populations of anadromous salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin have been lost. Efforts to reintroduce fish populations to areas where they were once abundant generally relies on the help from hatchery fish.

The Western Power Pool presented an update to the Council on the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP), a reliability and regional planning program for the Northwest.

Ryan Egerdahl, manager of long-term power planning for the Bonneville Power Administration, presented an overview of its long-term resource program at the Council’s June meeting.

Protecting Montana’s Resident Fish, Water Transactions in the Bitterroot Subbasin, Utility Panel Shares Views on Energy Issues in Montana

Regional Technical Forum manager Laura Thomas presented a summary of the RTF’s 2022 Annual Report at the June Council meeting.