Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill to increase the salary for the head of the Bonneville Power Administration to make the position more competitive and attractive as the agency searches for its next leader.
Reps. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) introduced the Bonneville Power Leadership Recruitment Act (H.R. 8132), which would allow the energy secretary to set the BPA administrator’s salary and make it competitive with other executives in the energy industry, according to a March 27 news release.
The bill comes after outgoing Administrator John Hairston announced his exit from the agency to join the Eugene Water & Electric Board. 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. (See Hairston to Retire from BPA, Poised to Join EWEB.)
With the bill, the lawmakers hope to attract qualified candidates, noting the agency operates nearly 75% of high-voltage transmission in the Northwest and supplies almost four million people with power.
“We citizens of the Northwest cannot afford a BPA administrator who lacks deep experience, proven leadership capability, strategic vision, and an understanding of the incredible value of the BPA to many of us in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern California and even a part of Wyoming,” Bentz said in a statement.
The bill would require the secretary of energy to set the salary at a level comparable to a CEO of consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection.
It would also apply market-based compensation standards to other BPA employees, mandate the use of annual compensation surveys to ensure pay remains competitive, ensure compensation is consistent with BPA’s budget and mission, and emphasize the need for experienced leadership, according to the news release.
Former BPA Administrator Randy Hardy previously criticized the salary and reiterated those concerns in a March 30 interview with RTO Insider. (See BPA Job Posting Spurs Questions About Search for New Administrator.)
“The BPA administrator is probably the most grossly underpaid official in the entire federal government,” Hardy said.
He said the salary should be at least “double” the range in the job posting. Executives of other utilities in the region can make up to $500,000 a year, while the BPA administrator, who has “three or four times the degree of responsibility … is making less than half of that,” according to Hardy.
The deadline to apply for the role was recently extended through March 30, expanding the application window from two to four weeks.
It is no accident, according to Hardy.
“They can’t find anybody who’s willing to take that low salary who’s qualified,” he said. “It’s a huge problem and it needs to be fixed.”
A BPA spokesperson said the agency typically does not comment on legislation.
