Bonneville Power Administration is a venerable Northwest institution, dating to 1937 and its formation by Congress to sell and deliver power from the new Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River 40 miles east of Portland. Read moreBPA in Flux: Venerable Northwest Electric Institution Faces Future of Promise and Risks
An action plan item in Puget Sound Energy's 2017 integrated resource plan got Steve Wright's attention. Read MoreBPA Faces Competitive Threats, Issues, But Offers Low-Cost Carbon-Free Hydro and Sees Potential New Markets for Surplus Power
BPA was born in 1937 out of tumult, change and challenge, a product of the Great Depression, a federal political fight and the push for rural electrification. Once established, though, Bonneville became "a large and boring agency, and boredom has served it well," as historian Richard White p… Read MoreBPA Prepares for Changing Energy Landscape
BPA is facing financial pressures that have led to recent wholesale power rate increases Administrator Elliot Mainzer has called "unsustainable" if the agency is to remain competitive. Read MoreBPA Addressing Financial and Rate Pressures Heading Toward 2028 Contracts
BPA faces one of the greatest challenges in its modern era in negotiating new long-term contracts with its public-power preference customers. Read MoreCost Is Key But Not King for Customer Utilities in Considering BPA 2028 Contracts
Over the past couple of years, Clearing Up published a series of "public power profiles," a question/answer format featuring public-power utility leaders from around the Northwest. Read MoreNorthwest Public-Power Utility Leaders Share Thoughts on BPA
BPA supplies the electricity demands of its 143 customers (most of them public-power utilities) through a combination of federally operated dams, nuclear energy and market purchases, and delivers most of that power on its own transmission system. Read MoreBPA Transmission, Power Resources Explained and Explored
The lower Snake River dams—Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Granite and Lower Monumental—have become a flashpoint for those who say removal of the dams is required to save salmon and steelhead that once freely migrated the Snake to the Columbia River and out to the Pacific Ocean. Read MoreOverview of Lower Snake River Dam Issues
BPA and its hydropower resources will likely first experience the effects of climate change in the Snake River basin, as rising temperatures creep northward through the Columbia Basin. Read MoreBPA Anticipates First Climate Change Impacts in Snake River Basin, Prepares for System Adjustments
Hatcheries, improvements to stream habitat, predator control, ocean surveys … and much more. Read MoreExploring the Fish and Wildlife Program: How It Works, Effectiveness, Controlling Costs
There are no easy solutions for keeping BPA's fish and wildlife costs stable. But stakeholders in the region suggest funding needs to be prioritized, costs should be spread across the region so everyone who benefits from hydropower helps pay for it, and a regionwide process for solving the p… Read MoreStakeholder Perspectives on Funding BPA's F&W Costs
Northwest public-power utilities expect a modernized Columbia River Treaty that will rebalance Columbia River hydroelectric power benefits that currently overcompensate Canada. Read MoreColumbia River Treaty Presents Another Uncertainty for BPA's Future
We asked four regional energy-industry players to share their perspectives on BPA's path forward, by answering the following question: Read MoreVisions for BPA's Future: Four Perspectives
For your convenience, NewsData has compiled a list of the acronyms we utilize throughout the Clearing Up publication. Read moreWestern Energy Acronyms
