The Bonneville Power Administration opened the selection process for the agency’s next administrator via an online job posting, prompting questions about the salary range and the level of input Northwestern lawmakers will have.

The Department of Energy posted the job opening March 2 on USAJobs.gov, a government website for federal job opportunities. The annual salary range is between $199,172 and $228,000 to lead the $4 billion agency responsible for roughly 70% of the Northwest’s high-voltage transmission.

The job posting comes after outgoing Administrator John Hairston announced his exit from the agency to join the Eugene Water & Electric Board in May. (See Hairston to Retire from BPA, Poised to Join EWEB.)

Multiple sources in the Northwest have told RTO Insider DOE seems to be looking for a candidate from outside BPA, breaking from a pattern in which the past four administrators have been selected from the agency’s ranks.

Former BPA Administrator Randy Hardy said DOE appears to intend to launch a competitive process to find its next administrator, which Hardy contended is a step in the right direction.

But finding qualified candidates might prove difficult given the salary offered, Hardy told RTO Insider.

“Anybody with this degree of responsibility should make double or triple that,” Hardy said.

He noted that the salary is dictated by federal guidelines, which is a “big problem in terms of attracting … qualified candidates to run the agency.”

“You’re going to lose a lot of … candidates who would be interested and very competitive, and I don’t know who you’ll get at that lower kind of salary,” he added.

Historically, DOE has consulted with the Northwest congressional delegation to select the next administrator. Hardy said he assumes the agency will continue doing so.

Zabyn Towner, executive director of Northwest Requirements Utilities, likewise said he hopes lawmakers will get their say in who the next administrator should be to ensure the person understands the agency’s mission of serving small and rural customers.

The delegation historically has acted as an “informal board of directors for Bonneville and has had a say in … selecting the individual who serves as the next administrator,” Towner said. “And what we would like to see is that tradition continue.”

However, “I haven’t seen the level of engagement that I was hoping to see from the delegation so far,” Towner said. “It’s early in the process … I can’t comment on what might happen in the future, and hopefully we’ll see more engagement and direction from the delegation like we’ve seen in the past with previous selections.”

Meanwhile, Public Power Council sent a letter to DOE in February, urging the agency to select a candidate who can uphold the principles of BPA.

PPC’s Scott Simms told RTO Insider it appears the job posting included many of the “qualifications and expectations we would hope to see in the next administrator.”

“I think we can definitely see … some of those elements, for instance, upholding statutory obligations of BPA and, of course, statutory obligations for the country in general,” Simms said. He noted also the importance of ensuring the administrator is “looking out for the interests of a wide array of stakeholders, from utilities to interest groups and tribes.”