BPA is looking for five-year contracts of market purchases to help serve a portion of its preference customer load in southeast Idaho during winter months. Read MoreBPA Goes to Market Again to Help Serve SE Idaho Preference Customers
Top Stories
Under a proclamation signed April 17, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee retroactively extended service protections to residential customers of consumer-owned utilities that had been given to residential customers of investor-owned utilities on March 23. Read MoreInslee Extends COVID-19 Service Protections to COU Residential Customers
FERC staff has recommended licensing a grid-connected test facility for wave-energy conversion devices that would be located off the Oregon coast. Read MoreFERC Environmental Study OKs Oregon Hydrokinetic Test Facility
A commercial fisherman working on the Columbia River, near the mouth of the Yakima River, may have netted a 24- and a 36-inch gar, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Read MoreFisherman Nets Pair of Invasive Gar in Columbia River
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation received a grant from federal agencies to help monitor for quagga and zebra mussels in the Columbia River reservoirs behind Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams. Read MoreColville Tribe Receives Federal Grant for Expanded Mussel Monitoring, Response
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon lacks authority to grant the injunctive relief sought by plaintiffs in WaterWatch of Oregon et al. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers et al. [20-413]. Read MoreCorps Opposes Injunction for Willamette Project Reallocation
As the COVID-19 pandemic roils state and national economies, three Northwest IOUs have secured short-term loans, according to 8-K forms filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Read MoreNorthwest IOUs Secure Loans Amid Pandemic's Financial Uncertainty
Seattle City Light has made it easier for customers whose income has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to get help paying their power bills, through streamlining of its Utility Discount Program, which offers a 60 percent discount on electricity bills. Read MoreCoping With COVID-19: Seattle City Light Makes it Easier to Get Bill Assistance
BPA has updated its workshop schedule for the 2022 power and transmission rate cases, and on Phase III issues of the agency's potential entry into the Western EIM. The changes were made in part because of COVID-19 pandemic disruptions to working environments, and in consultation with stakeho… Read MoreBrief Mentions: News Roundup
The new coronavirus is exacting a tragic human toll along with economic calamity. It also looks to usher in an era of heightened uncertainties in energy, as even experts acknowledge in looking ahead to the coming months and years. Read MorePandemic Heightens Energy Uncertainties
In recent weeks, California ISO demand has been softened by state stay-at-home order, but the latest usage climbed as the week progressed, mirroring rising temperatures, with demand increasing by almost 21 percent between April 19 and April 23. Read MoreCAISO Demand Increases as Week Progresses
For your convenience, NewsData has compiled a list of the acronyms we utilize throughout the Clearing Up publication. Read moreWestern Energy Acronyms
In the latest Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about the coal-fired Colstrip power plant's new lease on life and more. Read moreEnergy West: Jan. 26, 2023
Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole goes over the top 10 stories for the Northwest energy industry in 2022. Read moreTop 10 Energy Stories From the NW Energy Industry in 2022
Alcoa is shuttering its Intalco Works smelter in northwest Washington, citing declining market conditions and first-quarter 2020 losses of $24 million for the plant, the company said in its April 22 quarterly earnings release. Read MoreAlcoa Curtails Remaining Intalco Capacity, Cites $24M Q1 Losses
After a months-long search, Douglas County PUD hired Hydrogenics Corp. to construct the first renewable hydrogen production facility in the Northwest. Read MoreDouglas PUD Hires Contractor for Planned Renewable Hydrogen Plant
The recently released draft EIS for Columbia River System Operations found that, out of six alternatives, Snake River salmon and steelhead would have the highest predicted smolt-to-adult returns (SARs) under an alternative that would breach the four lower Snake River dams and increase spill … Read MoreCSS Model: Combined DEIS Alternatives Best Fish Option
A proposal by NOAA Fisheries to ask federal agencies to augment flows from Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams to aid migrating juvenile salmon turned into a marathon discussion at the Fish Passage Advisory Committee meeting on April 21 and 22. Read MoreFish Managers Consider, Then Reject Flow Augmentation
For the first time in its 53-year history, the Public Power Council has expelled a member utility for sharing confidential information. Read MorePPC Expels Utility Member After Protest Gets Personal
Talen Energy wants a cut of NorthWestern Energy's deal to buy a portion of Puget Sound Energy's share of the Colstrip transmission system, a move the utility vowed to fight in its first-quarter earnings call on April 23. Read MoreNWE Vows to Fight Talen Cutting Into Transmission Deal With PSE
President Donald Trump on April 24 signed into law the fourth coronavirus pandemic response bill, which appropriates an additional $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program. Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission opened the 6-GHz band to unlicensed users, drawing fire from u… Read MorePOTOMAC: Trump Signs Fourth Pandemic Bill