News

Over the course of two meetings in May, Council members and Power Division staff continued discussions on options for the Ninth Power Plan’s cost-effective resource strategy. The Council could potentially approve a draft of the Ninth Plan at its July 14-15 meeting in Portland, which would commence a public comment period and hearing process. The goal is to approve the final plan by the end of the year.

The Council listened to a presentation on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s First Foods management approach at its May meeting in Pendleton, Ore.

At April’s meeting, the Council heard predictions for average ocean conditions and average run sizes for salmon and steelhead in 2026. Presenters included NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, CRITFC, IDFG, and WDFW.

As the Council continues to make progress toward developing the resource strategy for the Ninth Power Plan this year, Power Division staff has reached a significant milestone. They have completed regional resource optimization modeling. They presented results of this study at the Council’s April meeting in Whitefish, MT.

A recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group, a consulting firm, finds that while retail electricity prices in the U.S. have increased in the past several years, these trends have tracked with inflation, on average. A Brattle Group analyst presented the results of this study to the Council at its March meeting in Portland.

At March’s Council meeting in Portland, representatives from the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition presented key findings from their new 10-year study examining an expansion of the transmission system in the Western Interconnection, including the Pacific Northwest.

Sea lion predation on salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin remains a source of concern for regional fish and wildlife managers.

With millions of acre-feet of water protected but transactions growing more complex and costly, program administrators discuss future options.

Emerging technologies could reshape the way electricity is generated in the Pacific Northwest in the future, although major questions linger on their costs and timelines to commercial viability. Because these supply-side emerging technologies could play important roles in the future grid, the Council heard a briefing about three options at its February meeting in Portland.

The threat of invasive species continues to loom large in the Columbia River Basin, with the potential to significantly disrupt ecosystems and infrastructure. Ahead of National Invasives Species Awareness Week (February 23-27), the Council heard from a panel of regional experts on existing and emerging species of concern.