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 More
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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 More
FERC staff has recommended licensing a grid-connected test facility for wave-energy conversion devices that would be located off the Oregon coast. Read More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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 More
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For your convenience, NewsData has compiled a list of the acronyms we utilize throughout the Clearing Up Publication. Read more
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 More
After a months-long search, Douglas County PUD hired Hydrogenics Corp. to construct the first renewable hydrogen production facility in the Northwest. Read More
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 More
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 More
For the first time in its 53-year history, the Public Power Council has expelled a member utility for sharing confidential information. Read More
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 More
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 More