Bonneville Power Administration

Roughly 120 employees were fired from BPA last month - raising alarms from experts in the power grid and Gov. Tina Kotek. They've now been asked to return, but the agency will still be down hundreds of positions since the start of the Trump administration.

Eighty-eight years after its creation by an act of Congress, Bonneville Power is widely viewed as both an engine of prosperity in the Northwest, and — at times — an obstacle to environmental goals and economic growth.

The lost talent means the agency will have a harder time responding to weather emergencies and planning for future power growth, according to those who study the region’s power grid.

Roughly 130 of BPA’s more than 3,000 employees were told they’d been dismissed last week, as part of large-scale job cuts initiated by the Trump administration. But 30 of those workers were later deemed critical to BPA’s core work to manage power across the Pacific Northwest, strengthen the electrical grid and keep the lights on.

The Democrats cited OPB’s reporting that BPA could lose nearly 20% of its staff because of buyouts, a hiring freeze and termination of probationary employees coming as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government.

The Bonneville Power Administration could lose nearly 20% of its workforce because of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, raising concerns about the agency’s ability to ensure the reliability of the region’s electrical grid.

The Bonneville Power Administration is proposing 13 new projects that would strengthen and increase energy capacity in the Pacific Northwest as electricity demands rise.

Bonneville Power Administration is accused of gross negligence and recklessness in its handling of energy transmissions on Labor Day, 2020.

The new tech economy has put the squeeze on other resources in this old Western town.