Category – Energy

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.

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 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.

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

It’s been a colder winter for us in the Pacific Northwest, which has meant a healthy snowpack and a later runoff for now.

Intense heat waves and winter storms with extreme temperatures have underscored the need to strengthen the power system’s ability to withstand these stresses, in part through well-insulated homes and buildings.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance briefed the Council on some promising technologies in energy efficiency, as the 2021 Power Plan includes strong recommendations for continued investments in emerging technologies.

Wholesale power markets in the West are a key factor to review annually to track the Council 's 2021 Power Plan, as well as helping utilities in their own price forecasts and providing avoided market emissions rate guidance for state agencies developing building codes.