The Spokane Tribe of Indians filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue BPA over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, challenging BPA's record of decision to implement the Preferred Alternative in the Columbia River System Operations EIS. Read More
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The Western EIM set another record for economic benefits, with $119.3 million accrued in the third quarter. Read More
The State of Oregon is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for payment of $839,923 in costs the state incurred evaluating and cleaning up Bradford Island, a site near Bonneville Dam where toxic materials were dumped for 40 years. Read More
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a 25-year strategic plan at its Oct. 23-25 meeting, setting goals to reduce its carbon footprint and improve public trust, fish and wildlife habitat, wild salmon populations, public participation and employee satisfaction. Read More
Mike McArthur has been named executive director of the Oregon-based Community Renewable Energy Association, replacing Brian Skeahan, who is retiring after seven years with the organization. Read More
The Washington UTC on Oct. 29 approved rate changes for the state's four investor-owned natural gas utilities, effective Nov. 1, based on purchased gas adjustments and other annual filings. Read More
Starting in 2021, NorthWestern Energy plans by 2030 to replace 30 percent of its cars and light trucks with battery electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids, 20 percent of its new medium and heavy-duty vehicles, 30 percent of its new bucket trucks, and all new forklifts. NWE currently … Read More
The recently released root-cause analysis of California's blackouts in mid-August provide a deeper look at the problems besetting the state's energy market, according to some seasoned observers. Read More
We want to hear from you on energy issues and to share your thoughts with our readership. Clearing Up is debuting a new section for reader comments, called Voices From Behind the Meter. Our goal is to facilitate energy dialogue. Read More
Western daytime power prices continued to sag without support from demand in the Oct. 22 through Oct. 29 trading period. Read More
The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (better known as the Northwest Power Act) turned 40 years old in December. Read more
We want to hear from you on energy issues and to share your thoughts with our readership. Read more
Installing carbon-capture technology at Montana's Colstrip coal-fired power plant would cost about $1.3 billion upfront, plus about $100 million in annual upkeep and operating expenses, according to a recently acquired 2018 study commissioned by U.S. DOE's Office of Fossil Energy. Read More
The future of the Colstrip coal-fired plant in Montana may have gotten a little darker, after Puget Sound Energy and NorthWestern Energy mutually agreed to terminate a deal that would have allowed NorthWestern to acquire PSE's shares of Unit 4, along with PSE's interest in the Colstrip trans… Read More
The Montana PSC ruled Oct. 27 that NorthWestern Energy could not recover replacement power costs related to an outage at the Colstrip power plant during summer 2018, because the utility's supervision of the plant prior to the outage was imprudent. Read More
Two new lawsuits filed in Oregon during late October allege PacifiCorp's failure to de-energize its transmission and distribution lines was the cause of several wildfires that ripped through parts of Oregon in early September. Read More
In two months, one collaborative process focused on building healthy and harvestable salmon and steelhead runs in Idaho will conclude its work, just as a new collaborative process with a similar goal for the entire region—currently known as the Four State Agreement—prepares to ramp up. Read More
In the Western U.S., snowpack is an important tool for predicting annual streamflow from April through July. But Ben Livneh, a physical hydrologist and professor at the University of Colorado, says it's time to look for new ways to predict streamflow. Read More
Portland General Electric on Oct. 30 reported a net loss of $17 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, for third quarter of 2020—a dramatic downturn from the $55 million in net income, or 61 cents per diluted share, the utility reported for third quarter 2019. Read More
Sharply different energy policy futures for the U.S. are at stake in the Nov. 3 election. The contest for the nation's highest office between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, is a contest between two dramatically different directions for … Read More