The Bonneville Power Administration has finalized the set of policies and records of decision (RODs) underlying its long-term power sales contracts and has taken additional steps to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities, CEO John Hairston said during the agency’s quarterly business review Aug. 14.
The policies and RODs build on the agency’s provider-of-choice policy issued in March 2024 and provide more details about the products and services it offers under the new long-term contracts. The goal is to complete all contract offers by Sept. 30 and for customers to return signed contracts by Dec. 5, allowing BPA to execute them by the end of the year, Hairston said. (See BPA Close to Issuing New Long-term Power Contract.)
“This has been an incredibly iterative and collaborative process,” Hairston noted. “BPA greatly appreciates the time and energy invested by so many people to ensure we establish a foundation for stable, competitively priced and flexible power sales. The long-term certainty provided by these contracts will support regional economic stability and help ensure a more reliable and affordable power supply for customers we serve.”
BPA has updated its strategic plan in accordance with the Trump administration and the Department of Energy’s goal to provide “more secure, reliable, abundant and affordable energy,” Hairston said.
One change, Hairston added, is that the agency has removed objectives related to diversity, equity and inclusion to align with executive orders issued shortly after Trump took office.
“Other minor refinements reflect the department’s focus on energy addition, not subtraction, and strengthening grid reliability and security,” Hairston said.
Hairston highlighted other BPA projects, including a partnership with Energy Northwest to increase the output of the Columbia Generating Station by 162 MW in a $700 million project, and an upgrade to Montana-to-Washington transmission aimed at expanding capacity.
He commented on BPA’s new power and transmission rates for fiscal years 2026 to 2028. Customers’ power rates will increase by about 8 to 9% over the next three years, while transmission rates will jump by an average of nearly 20%. (See BPA Customers to See Increased Power, Transmission Rates.)
“The new rates balance the need to keep rates low and stable while supporting power and transmission system investments to meet customer load growth and connect new generation,” Hairston said. “The rates we adopted are the product of multiple settlements that required hard work and collaboration.”
The administrator noted the June 12 presidential memo directing the federal government to withdraw from a deal the Biden administration signed that eventually could have led to breaching several dams operated by BPA on the Snake River. (See Trump Directs Feds to Withdraw from Deal on Snake River Dams.)
“The federal parties provided notice of withdrawal on June 24, which also made clear that the federal government is willing to engage in good faith efforts to seek a satisfactory solution to the pending litigation and concerns of various stakeholders,” Hairston said.
Financial Outlook
BPA’s forecast for net revenue in the third quarter of 2025 is $184 million, a $26 million decrease from the second quarter but higher than the $70 million target.
Power services’ net revenue forecast is $105 million, $27 million above target. Transmission services’ net revenue forecast is $73 million, $80 million above target.
“BPA’s above-targets results are mainly due to higher power and transmission revenues, lower-than-predicted Integrated Program Review expenses and debt-management actions,” according to a news release. “Notably, BPA was able to use liquidity tools to offset its largest power purchases in January and February through a federal debt-management transaction that allowed BPA to realize significant gains.”
