RNW's Statement on BPA Workforce Reduction

Renewable Northwest released the following statement from Executive Director Nicole Hughes in response to the recent workforce reduction at Bonneville Power Administration.

Portland, Oregon, February 21, 2025 – 

Due to the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has lost roughly 20% of its workforce over the past few weeks. BPA plays an integral role in the Pacific Northwest’s economy – it supplies the region with a third of its electricity and manages over 75% of the region’s electricity transmission infrastructure. For generations, the Pacific Northwest has relied heavily on BPA’s low cost hydroelectric power, its commitment to tribal and fish and wildlife programs, and the operations of the region’s critical transmission infrastructure. 

Prior to the recent layoffs, Renewable Northwest advocated for the agency to increase salaries of existing staff and expand their workforce to meet the growing needs of the region’s electricity grid. It is critical to the region’s energy future that BPA maintains an adequate and qualified workforce to deliver on the programs the agency is responsible for under its statutory authority. This important goal is undermined by the poorly planned, arbitrary staff reductions that occurred over the past few weeks. What is even more concerning is these staff reductions will not result in any savings to taxpayers. BPA is self-funded and relies on power and transmission customer rates to support its operations. So while a reduction in staff may check a box for the politically motivated federal agents responsible for these actions, it does not result in cost savings to the federal government. In fact, it will most certainly result in negative impacts on the citizens of the Pacific Northwest. 

In addition to the myriad of impacts these staff reductions will have on BPA’s programs and the reliability of our region’s electricity grid writ large, these actions will have long standing impacts on staff morale and the ability to re-hire and retain a competitive workforce. It is essential that the staff terminated last week are returned to their positions and measures are put in place to ensure a talented and appropriately compensated workforce is maintained to continue to deliver on BPA’s critical mission going forward. 

About Renewable Northwest

Renewable Northwest is a regional, non-profit renewable energy advocacy organization, dedicated to accelerating the transition to renewable electricity while maintaining reliable, resilient electricity service and reasonable rates. Our membership of nearly ninety organizations is a combination of renewable energy businesses, large energy users, and environmental and consumer groups.