The Bonneville Power Administration has executed new long-term wholesale electric power contracts with more than 130 public utility customers under the agency’s Provider of Choice initiative, according to an announcement.
The new 16-year power purchase agreements with Northwest public utility customers were signed throughout the fall and are the product of a four-year effort to get contracts in place before existing agreements expire in 2028, according to a Dec. 23 news release.
“This is a watershed moment for BPA and our ratepayers,” agency Administrator and CEO John Hairston said in a statement. “With these contracts in hand, we have the continuity and certainty necessary to continue building and expanding the value of the federal power and transmission systems that deliver vital, low-cost and reliable electricity to millions of residential, commercial and industrial consumers and serves as a cornerstone of the Pacific Northwest’s economy.”
A recent study by Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) found that accelerated load growth and aging power plant retirements in the Northwest could create a resource gap starting around 1.3 GW in 2026 and expanding to almost 9 GW by 2030. (See 9-GW Power Gap Looms over Northwest, Co-op Warns.)
The news release did not mention the E3 study, but BPA said the contracts would provide a “sturdy financial base for Bonneville as it works to ensure the region is ready to meet the increasing energy demands in the near term and the future.”
With the contracts signed, the agency enters a three-year implementation period to begin power sales in October 2028. The implementation period includes calculating Contract High Water Marks, drafting Resource Support Services contract provisions and standing up associated systems and processes identified in the Provider of Choice (POC) contracts, BPA spokesperson Kevin Wingert told RTO Insider on Jan. 5.
BPA will use the new Public Rate Design Methodology to establish rates under the BP-29 Rate Case expected to launch in fall 2027, according to the news release.
Bonneville delivers power to regional public power customers under contracts executed in 2008. The agreements provided approximately 76% of BPA’s power services’ revenue requirement in 2022, according to a concept paper. (See BPA Preparing to Deliver Power Under New Multiyear Contracts.)
The long-term contracts by statute cannot exceed 20 years, and BPA initiated the POC effort in 2021 to begin contract discussions with stakeholders before agreements expire in September 2028, according to the paper.
POC contracts are for BPA’s preference customers only, and no IOUs have signed an agreement. However, BPA developed the New Resource Rate Block Policy in August 2025, which outlines how an IOU could request service and what an agreement would include, according to Wingert.
The agency has launched other initiatives aimed at meeting the Northwest’s growing energy demand, the Dec. 23 news release noted.
For example, the agency is working to improve the power output for the Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear power plant. The agency said the modifications could result in additional output of approximately 160 MW by 2031.
Other efforts include investments in the Federal Columbia River Power System, such as high-efficiency turbine runners, generator rewinds and two new turbines, which the agency hopes could provide up to 330 aMW of additional energy for BPA customers.
The agency’s Grid Access Transformation initiative aims to make it easier for power producers to access the grid and shorten the construction time of new transmission lines. BPA is investing “up to $25 billion in transmission projects and reinforcements across the Northwest,” according to the news release. (See Utilities Back Some BPA Transmission Updates, Hesitate on Others.)
