Category – Energy

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.

At the June meeting held in Missoula, the Council heard presentations from representatives of electric co-operatives serving rural communities in western Montana, about the status of operations at Libby and Hungry Horse Dams, and about the Ice Age flooding that swept through the Columbia River Basin thousands of years ago.

On April 29, the Power Division staff released a new initial forecast showing a range of potential electricity demand growth in the Pacific Northwest over the next two decades. Senior Energy Forecasting Analyst Steve Simmons, Senior Power Analyst Tomás Morrissey, and Power System Analyst Jake Kennedy led a presentation on the forecast during an online meeting of the Council.

At its April meeting in Portland, the Council set the thresholds for its resource adequacy metrics, which are intended to protect the Pacific Northwest’s power system from outages that are too frequent, too large, or too long in duration.

When you need to see in the dark, which will illuminate the terrain better – a flashlight or an aerial flare? This spring, Council Power Division staff will be using the latter approach to produce new 20-year load forecasts for the future of the Pacific Northwest’s power system.

At March’s Council meeting, Power Division staff led presentations about the estimated costs and timelines to develop for generating resources, and the first portion of energy efficiency potential for the Ninth Power Plan.

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.

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.