Tag – Ninth-power-plan

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 the early portion of 2026. The Council is also in the process of amending its Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program with the goal of having a draft ready this fall and a final verison adopted in spring 2026.

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.

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 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.