Frank Afranji, president of the Northwest Power Pool, will retire in January 2022, the organization announced Oct. 14.

As BPA continues to manage its costs at or below the rate of inflation through 2028, the agency plans to operate under a constrained budget in fiscal year 2022, which started Oct. 1, Bonneville told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council committee.

A request by the Independent Scientific Review Panel for additional analysis by some entities receiving BPA funds through the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program was met with some concern by staff at the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council's draft 2021 Power Plan released in August encompasses the tectonic shifts underway in the electric power industry and in the Northwest, Executive Director Bill Edmonds said during his state of the Council address at the agency's Oct. 13 meeting.

Scott Coe will retire as Emerald PUD's GM on Jan. 1 after nine years at the helm.

The Montana PSC on Oct. 12 unanimously approved NorthWestern Energy's request to withdraw its application for preapproval of a new 175 MW natural gas-fired power plant and a companion 50 MW battery storage project. The application, filed in May, drew significant opposition and scrutiny from …

The Public Power Council will actively participate as intervenor-defendants in a lawsuit over the Columbia River System Operations EIS and BiOp after U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted its motion on Sept. 29 to be included.

After exceeding water-quality standards for total dissolved gas at Lower Granite Dam three times since Oct. 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be testing operational changes in order to meet them.

BPA made its 38th consecutive U.S. Treasury payment, bringing the cumulative total to more than $32 billion, the agency announced Oct. 5.

Three impacted First Nations in northwestern British Columbia and the regional district of Bulkley-Nechako are joining together in a bid to restore the health of the massive Nechako River and to return its flows to more historical levels.

Blake Weathers will join the Public Power Council in a newly created role as its director of power supply, effective Oct. 11. Weathers comes to PPC after almost nine years of progressive responsibility in the Northwest Requirements Utilities trade association, which followed more than 12 yea…

Seattle is getting an $11 million refund from the federal government following FERC's reversal in a dispute over land-use fees related to the city's Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.

FERC denied a motion by PacifiCorp and Cowlitz County PUD for an emergency stay of all remaining fish-passage requirements at four Lewis River hydroelectric projects.

Longtime banking executive John Donner joined Umatilla Electric Cooperative in September as VP of finance and rates, a newly created position at the Hermiston, Ore.-based utility.

The four Northwest states working to launch the Columbia Basin Collaborative have convened the Integration/Recommendations Group, which begins meeting this fall. The states released a list of participants and their alternates in the group on Sept. 27. Participants include four federal agenci…

BPA on Sept. 22 announced its executive structure was changing to "strengthen the agency's strategic capabilities and enhance its commitment to its workforce," it said in a release.

A U.S. District Court Judge in Oregon dismissed Public Power Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [21-32], noting his ruling in another case made the issue PPC raised moot.

The Oregon PUC on Sept. 23 approved the release of remaining capacity in the state's Community Solar Program.

NOAA Fisheries has approved a plan limiting nontribal fishing for Chinook salmon off the West Coast in years when their numbers are forecasted to be below 966,000 fish.

A new BC Hydro report outlines how drought-weakened trees from summer's record heat waves combined with expected stormier La Niña weather conditions may result in more power outages across the province this fall and winter.

Avangrid Renewables has appointed Jose Antonio Miranda to the newly created post of president onshore, charged with overseeing the growth of the company's onshore wind and solar business, the company said Sept. 23. Miranda was previously CEO of onshore in the Americas region for Siemens Game…

Wildfires directly or indirectly took BPA transmission lines out of service 30 times this summer, BPA VP of Transmission System Operations Michelle Cathcart told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council at its Sept. 15 meeting.

Members of a joint committee of the Washington and Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissions were briefed Sept. 16 by their staffs on this year's record-low steelhead run and actions taken to prevent impacts from fishing on wild Columbia Basin steelhead, which are listed as threatened under the E…

The Northwest Public Power Association presented awards at its 81st annual conference on Sept. 9 to seven individuals and one member utility.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted a joint motion Sept. 10 that delays the deadlines for several filings by 30 days in National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al. [01-640]. The plaintiffs—10 environmental groups—were joined by federal defendants and…

Leadership of the Western EIM on Sept. 8 approved a new category of market participant known as a "sub-entity," a measure deemed necessary to implement Public Service Company of Colorado's entry into the imbalance market.

A Montana District Court judge rejected NorthWestern Energy's motion to dismiss a lawsuit to block preapproval by the Montana PSC to build a 175 MW natural gas-fired plant.

Puget Sound Energy and parent company Puget Energy have named Jean-Paul Marmoreo to their boards. He represents the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, which owns 23.9 percent of the utility. OMERS was previously represented by Kenton Bradbury, who resigned from the companies' boa…

When more than 10,000 coho passed Bonneville Dam on Aug. 31, Columbia Basin fish managers took a second look—just to be sure. They were predicting another good year for Columbia Basin coho returns, but if current trends continue, this year's coho run will be truly remarkable.

Summertime abundance of Chinook salmon from the Fraser River, Puget Sound and the Salish Sea can be used to predict the health of southern resident killer whales in the fall, and whether any individuals are more likely to die in the near future, scientists studying the whales say.

NorthWestern Energy has asked Montana state regulators to allow it to resume short-term hedging purchases, something it has not done since acquiring substantial hydropower resources in 2014. The company wants approval to make short-term, off-system, fixed-price hedge transactions, which it s…

PNGC Power has named Michael Jung its new VP of government affairs, effective Aug. 31, the cooperative announced. Jung sits on the GridForward advisory board and Oregon Environmental Council board of directors. He is a Fulbright alumnus, and a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Kennedy…

An expert panel on Aug. 20 submitted plans to a U.S. District Court judge in Oregon for this fall's deep drawdown at the Willamette Valley Project's Cougar Dam and for spill at Foster Dam, along with their impacts.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council unanimously voted Aug. 23 to release the 2021 Power Plan draft for public comment.

Fish in the Snake River will have enough cool water from Dworshak Dam without the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers having to draft the reservoir below the Aug. 31 end-of season elevation of 1,535 feet, members of the Columbia River Technical Management Team learned at their Aug. 25 meeting.

This summer the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation released 342 adult Chinook salmon in blocked areas of the upper Columbia Basin, marking the third year for the tribes' cultural and educational salmon releases (CU No. 1916 [11]).

Officers were elected on Aug. 25 to the Energy Northwest executive board. Will Purser (Clallam County PUD) was elected to serve as board chair; John Saven (governor appointee) will serve as vice chair; Linda Gott (Mason County PUD No. 3) will continue to serve as board secretary; and Jim Mos…

The National Marine Fisheries Service has found that two populations of spring-run Chinook do not warrant listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

A U.S. District Court judge granted a motion from federal defendants to dismiss a cross-claim by the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association in National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al. [01-640], ruling that the group has no standing.

A federal judge overruled objections by environmental plaintiffs to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' list of expert panelists to help draft interim measures for operating the Willamette Valley Project.

Following a First Judicial District Court directive issued in December [CDV-2020-290], the Montana PSC ruled that batteries must be included in calculating avoided energy costs for NorthWestern Energy in a QF contract with a wind-plus-battery facility.

Charles "Chuck" Sams III was nominated by President Joe Biden to be director of the National Park Service, according to Indian Country Today. Sams is currently an Oregon member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (CU No. 1990 [7.2]). If confirmed by the Senate, he will serve unde…

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Power Committee unanimously voted Aug. 10 to send the draft 2021 Power Plan to the full Council to review for public release.

Keeping coal-fired North Valmy Unit 2 running through 2025 is the cheapest option to ensure reliability, Idaho Power says in filings submitted to Oregon regulators.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council unanimously agreed Aug. 11 to spend $449,800 from the Cost Savings Fund earmarked for fiscal year 2021 on hatchery infrastructure and fish screens.

Despite dangerously warm water in the Snake and Salmon rivers this summer, the first two endangered Snake River sockeye have made the 900-mile in-river journey from the Pacific Ocean to Sawtooth Basin, the earliest arriving Aug. 7.

Therese Hampton, executive director of the Public Generating Pool, has announced plans to retire at the end of 2021, after serving since 2013. Hampton says she plans to move to southern Utah and looks forward to staying engaged in the energy industry in a consulting role. Prior to joining PG…

A bipartisan infrastructure bill that's making its way through the U.S. Senate does not include the $33.5 billion proposal by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) to remove the four lower Snake River dams and replace them with clean energy sources.

Asserting that Oregon has failed to develop cleanup plans for thousands of polluted waterways, Northwest Environmental Advocates has asked a federal judge to require the Environmental Protection Agency to step in and do it instead.

Three weeks after FERC found that Seattle City Light does not have to conduct a study on the effects of removing the Gorge Dam as part of its relicensing process, the utility announced it will use a FERC test to assess whether a more thorough analysis of dam removal is warranted.