What does BRA do?

IF YOU LIVE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, CHANCES ARE YOU USE ELECTRICITY THAT’S

MARKETED BY THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADM INISTRATIO N OR IS TRANSM ITTED OVER

BPA POWER LINES. ■ Headquartered in Portland, Ore., BRA is a federal agency that markets 

wholesale electricity and transmission to the region's utilities as well as to some large industries. BPA 

provides about one-third of the electricity used in the Northwest and operates over three-fourths 

of the region's high-voltage transmission. ■ BPA does not rely on annual appropriations from 

Congress for its financing. Instead, the agency recovers all of its costs through sales of electricity 

and transmission services and repays the U.S. Treasury in full with interest for any money it borrows.

■ B P A s e lls w h o le s a le p o w e r at c o s t ra th e r th a n c h a rg in g m a rk e t p ric e s . The bulk 

o f the pow er BPA sells is generated at federal hydroelectric dam s on the Colum bia River, thus 

pro vid in g som e o f the lo w e s t-c o s t e le c tric ity in the n a tion . T his lo w -c o s t, clean p o w e r has 

been a corn erston e of the N o rthw est eco no m y for decades, stim ulating gro w th and new jobs.

■ As concerns about global clim ate change are placing a new prem ium on clean energy, the 

federal hydro system has becom e an increasingly valuable resource. In addition to being low 

cost, electricity produced by the federal hydro system has no greenhouse gas emissions. And this 

po w e r sou rce is renew able — replenished each year by the region's rainfall and sno w m e lt.
2
Powering the region.

BPA WAS CREATED IN 1937 TO MARKET ELECTRICITY GENERATED AT THE NEW FEDERAL

BONNEVILLE DAM. A s additional federal dam s were built in the N orthw est, the agency began 

selling po w e r from those projects as well. One of BPA’s early m issions focused on electrifying 

farm s and sm all com m unities in the N o rth w e st’s rural areas that w ere not profitable for private 

utilities to serve. ■ Today, BPA m arkets pow er generated at 31 federal dam s in the N orthw est. 

The agency's em ission-free pow er portfolio also includes one nonfederal nuclear plant at Hanford, 

W ash., as well as som e nonfederal renewable resources, such as w ind projects. ■ W hen selling 

power, BPA is required by law to give preference to N orthw est utilities that are ow ned and 

operated by the people they serve. These include public utility districts, city-ow ned utilities and 

electric cooperatives. ■ N orthw est custom ers are assured the first op portunity to buy BPA 

power. A fter their needs are met, BPA sells any surplus pow er to utilities outside the region. M oney 

generated from surplus sales helps keep BPA’s po w e r rates low for our N orthw est custom ers.

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Operating the 

transmission grid.

TO DELIVER POW ER, BPA BEGAN BUILDING TRAN SM ISSIO N LINES IN THE 1930s. Today 

the system includes m ore than 15,000 m iles of line. ■ BPA’s high-voltage electric grid links 

virtually all utilities in the N orthw est. Utilities that generate their ow n po w e r often rely on BPA’s 

system rather than building their ow n transm ission lines, w hich reduces the num ber of pow er 

lines that span the landscape. ■ Additionally, BPA operates large interregional transm ission 

lines that connect to Canada, eastern M ontana and California and other states. These lines enable 

BPA and other utilities to bring po w e r into the region w hen it's needed, such as on very cold 

w inter days, and to sell pow er outside the region w hen it is surplus to N orthw est needs. ■ BPA 

dispatchers coordinate and m onitor p o w e r that flow s throughout the region, m aking sure that this 

com plex, interconnected system runs in a safe, sm ooth and reliable m anner around the clock.

4
5

Balancing a rivers 

many uses.

THE C O LU M B IA RIVER IS A TR E M E N D O U S RESO URCE FOR THE REGION. Im portant fish 

spe cie s, such as salm on, steelhead and sturge on , m ake it th e ir hom e. It pro vid es a vital 

transportation corridor for ships carrying cargo to and from inland ports. Irrigators draw its 

w a te r to turn form er desert into fertile croplands. A nd it's a w o rld-class recreational area 

enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. ■ However, these m any uses can com pete w ith each 

other, w hich is w h y coordination of the river's operations is an im portant role for BPA and its 

fellow federal agencies - the U.S. A rm y C orps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclam ation. 

Together, these agencies operate the Federal C olum bia River P ow er System . Through a 

series of laws and agreem ents am ong m any parties in the United S tates and w ith Canada 

(where the C olum bia River originates), the river is operated as though run by a single 

entity. This ensures it is m anaged at m axim um efficiency w ith m inim um environm ental 

im pacts. ■ The federal agencies allocate w a te r and coordinate releases from headw aters 

to provide fo r flood control, fish passage, navigation and energy production as well as 

other uses. This delicate balancing act requires constant and often challenging tradeoffs.
Promoting energy 

conservation.

BPA HAS A LO NG-STANDING C O M M ITM E N T TO HELPING NO RTHW EST UTILITIES

CONSERVE ENERGY. S in ce 1 9 8 0 , B P A ’s c o n s e rv a tio n e ffo rts have save d m ore tha n

1.000 average m egaw atts for the region. That's enough electricity to serve a city about the size 

of Seattle. To foster energy conservation, BPA invests in a range of program s that encourage 

the use of energy-efficient technologies, such as com p act fluorescent light bulbs. M ore than

10.000 com m ercial buildings and 400 m anufacturing firm s have im proved their energy efficiency 

thanks to various BPA program s. In partnership w ith other N orthw est utilities, BPA funds the 

N orthw est Energy Efficiency Alliance, a nonprofit group that brings energy-efficient products 

and services into the m arketplace. BPA sup po rts the U.S. D epartm ent of Energy's Energy Star® 

program , w hich helps consum ers choose energy-efficient products from televisions to w ashing 

m achines. The agency also helps w eatherize the hom es of low -incom e residents in the region.
Supporting 

renewable energy.

THE DEM A ND FOR GREEN (EM ISSIO N-FREE) POW ER CO NTINUES TO G RO W IN THE

NORTHW EST. To help m eet this dem and, BPA currently offers its custom ers renewable energy 

capacity from w ind projects and one sm all solar project. ■ W ind po w e r is the fastest-grow ing 

renew able pow er source in the Pacific N orthw est. To sup po rt this developm ent, BPA has 

been upgrading its high-voltage transm ission system to connect new w ind projects into the 

region's po w e r grid. The agency is also w orking w ith others in the region to resolve the technical 

challenges of integrating w ind and other interm ittent renewable resources into the N orthw est 

pow er system . ■ Because w ind is an interm ittent resource, it m ust be coupled w ith another 

resource that can back it up w hen the w ind is not blowing. The hydroelectricity m arketed by 

BPA provides the ideal ba ck-up for w ind, since it can be ram ped up or dow n alm ost instantly to 

m eet dem and. ■ BPA also sup po rts renewable energy by funding research to investigate how 

w ind, ocean w ave and in-stream tidal technologies can best be harnessed to benefit the region.
W HILE DEVELO PM ENT OF THE C O LU M B IA RIVER HYDRO SYSTEM HAS BROUGHT

MULTIPLE BENEFITS TO THE NORTHW EST, IT HAS CO M E AT A COST TO FISH AND

W ILDLIFE, PARTICULARLY THE REG IO N ’S IC O NIC SALM O N. ■ A s a result, BPA helps fund 

and m anage the largest fish and w ildlife program in the w orld. This program includes hundreds 

of projects such as repairing spaw ning habitat, opening up tributaries through w a te r purchases 

and leases, hatchery im provem ents, habitat protection for w ildlife and control of predators. 

■ O ver the last 15 years, the federal dam s have been overhauled to m ake passage safer for fish. 

In addition to m ajor structural changes, actions include releasing w a te r from reservoirs to speed 

the m igration of young fish to the ocean, spilling w a te r at the dam s to help juvenile fish traverse 

the structures m ore safely, and transporting fish around the dam s w hen research show s that is 

the m ost effective approach. These and other efforts have significantly im proved fish survival at 

the federal dam s. ■ BPA continues to w o rk w ith federal and state agencies, N orthw est tribes 

and other stakeholders to m ake the C olum bia Basin's rivers and habitat better for fish and wildlife.
BPA

Service

Area

BPA’s service territory 

spans 300,000 square 

miles, and its 

transmission system 

includes more than 

15,000 miles of line.

Transmission

W ashington

W yom ing

Oregon

California Nevada Utah

Collaborating with 

the region.

AS A PUBLIC AG ENC Y THAT SERVES THE W HO LE NORTHW EST, BPA M UST BALANCE

MULTIPLE INTERESTS A N D CO NC ERNS. W e w o rk collab ora tively w ith the region, frequently 

consulting our custom ers, stakeholders, local tribes, elected officials and governm ent agencies 

on a range of issues that m ay affect them . W henever BPA m akes m ajor policy decisions, w e 

provide o p p o rtu n itie s fo r all stake holde rs, including m em b ers of the public, to give th e ir input.

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How to contact us.

F O R DETAILS ON CURRENT ISSUES, BPA PROJECTS AND PUBLIC

INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.BPA.GOV.

O r call BPA’s P u b lic In fo rm a tio n C e n te r at (503) 2 3 0 -7 3 3 4 o r toll free at (800) 6 2 2 -4 5 2 0 .

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Bonneville Power Administration

P.O. Box 3621, Portland, OR 97208-3621

vwwv.bpa.g9v

DOE/BP-3949 • Second printing • May 2009 • 5M