Bonneville Power Administration CEO John Hairston said during the agency’s quarterly business review Feb. 13 that BPA is committed to President Donald Trump’s goal to “unleash American energy dominance,” while also revealing that approximately 200 BPA federal employees have accepted the president’s deferred resignation offer.
About 6% of BPA’s federal workforce have opted into the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) deferred resignation program, and the agency has rescinded 90 job offers following a hiring freeze on federal employees imposed by Trump on Jan. 20, staff said during the quarterly business review.
About 2.3 million federal employees received the buyout offer in a Jan. 28 message titled “Fork in the Road.” Employees who accepted the offer would receive a severance package of eight months’ pay and benefits through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Employees were directed to respond by Feb. 6.
The offer is one of many actions, including a flurry of executive orders, that Trump has taken since regaining the presidency on Jan. 20, which have directly impacted BPA. Another example is the order on Unleashing American Energy.
BPA Administrator Hairston acknowledged there is “a lot of interest in BPA implementation of President Trump’s executive orders, and how those orders are expected to impact our business.”
“We see great opportunity in supporting and advancing the administration goals to unleash American energy dominance, and indeed, Bonneville will play a key role in our region as we continue to execute our mission by delivering safe, reliable transmission services,” Hairston said.
BPA has taken other actions in light of recent executive orders, including shutting down a culture office under the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program and requiring workers to return to the office full-time. BPA also is updating its strategic plan to align with the Trump administration’s direction, Hairston said.
Veronica Wittig, acting chief financial officer at BPA, said the agency works closely with the Department of Energy to carry out Trump’s directives. BPA forecasts negative net revenues of $44 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared with BPA’s target of positive $70 million, Wittig said.
“The Q1 forecast was developed based on information at the end of December 2024 and does not reflect the impact of executive order on BPA’s financial forecasts,” Wittig said.
Additionally, Wittig noted, “there is significant uncertainty at this time of the year with respect to water conditions and market prices, so net revenues picture may change significantly, which may also impact some of our other financial [key performance indicators].”
The call also touched on other BPA initiatives, including the agency’s work to offer new long-term power contracts under its provider-of-choice program. BPA hopes to have final contract templates by June with signed contracts by December, according to Hairston.
Hairston noted the pause on several transmission planning processes spurred by 65 GW of transmission requests.
The agency also is on track to release its day-ahead market draft policy in March, followed by a final policy and record of decision in May, Hairston said, referring to BPA’s upcoming choice of whether to join SPP’s Markets+ or CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market.
Additionally, on Jan. 30, BPA broke ground on a new control center located in Vancouver, Wash., which will be fully integrated into BPA’s system by 2031, Hairston said.
“It will begin a new era of grid visibility and control for BPA,” Hairston said. “The new facility has been intelligently designed to address evolving technology, continuity, safety and security needs. Its design will support the evolution of the bulk power grid over the next 50 years, while providing flexibility for growth and market opportunities.”
