WA PDC complaints filed against Jefferson County Public Utility District (Peninsula Daily News)

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026

By Emily Hanson Peninsula Daily News

PORT TOWNSEND — Two complaints have been filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission against Jefferson County PUD.

The complaints were filed on June 20 after PUD customers received their bills with a flier supporting the Jefferson County Proposition 1 Parks and Rec Levy, which is on the August primary ballot. The first complaint came from Shona Davis, who questioned whether public funds were used by Jefferson County PUD to pay for the fliers. Crystal Cox filed the second complaint for the same issue.

“Jefferson County Public Utility District is using publicly funded resources to promote a ballot measure, a levy which violates state laws prohibiting the use of public facilities or funds for campaign activity,” Cox wrote in her complaint.

Cox cited RCW 42.17A.555, “which prohibits the use of ‘public office or agency facilities’ to promote or oppose any ballot proposition,” according to her complaint.

PUD General Manager Joseph Wilson was unaware Tuesday the complaints had been filed but stated several people had contacted them about the flier and that the PUD attorney was already planning to contact the Public Disclosure Commission to let them know what happened.

“There was, I think, a misunderstanding of what’s allowed,” Wilson said. “There’s been other instances of the staff interacting with different agencies who request fliers be added to the PUD bills.”

Previous instances include Jefferson County requesting the PUD include information about recycling programs, Wilson said.

“An employee with the PUD received a request on this topic and didn’t discern that it was relevant to voting, which is different from other topics that have been included before,” Wilson said. “It was a mistake, and we’re going to have to do some process improvement to ensure it doesn’t repeat. We’ll use it as a learning opportunity.”

The PUD pays a company to perform its bill stuffing. As with other instances of additional information included with the bills, the PUD will pass on the cost of the levy fliers to the Jefferson County Parks Department.

“PUD funds were not used to cover the cost of this stuffing,” Wilson said. “PUD customers are not paying for the cost of the bill stuffing for the flier for the proposition.”

Jefferson County PUD strives to not be involved in politics, Wilson said.

“We understand that our customers receive our services and our mission is just to serve those as affordably and reliably as we can,” he said.

Guest Essay: Washington's Biggest Grid Problem Isn't Data Centers — It's Winter (Appeared in the Seattle Times, WA)

May 27, 2026

By Kurt Miller and Kelly Fukai 

Most of Washington's public energy debate centers on AI and data centers. The April 2026 E3 resource adequacy study — which the Seattle Times editorial board rightly called an alarm for every Washingtonian — should reframe that conversation. The most challenging problem facing the Pacific Northwest’s grid is not AI. It is winter. 

Winter cold demand is acutely peaked, weather-driven, geographically diffuse across millions of homes, and most severe precisely when wind and solar produce least. As Washington pushes heating from gas onto electric heat pumps, that demand shifts onto the system hardest to expand fast enough to absorb it. 

The Northwest Public Power Association represents over 150 community-owned utilities accountable to their customers for rates. The Northwest Gas Association represents the region's natural gas distribution and gas transmission companies. For most of the region's history, the two systems operated in parallel silos — electric utilities managed the grid, gas utilities managed the pipe — and when the region had abundant generation and comfortable margins, that separation worked fine. 

That era is over. 

Electrification is shifting heating load from gas onto the grid faster than transmission and generation can be built to absorb it. At the same time, gas-fired generation is what the grid leans on when wind and solar fall short — and a cold snap that strains gas delivery also strains the power plants that depend on it. The two fuels are now deeply interdependent. Our shared conclusion: reliability and affordability both depend on treating energy diversity as a strength, not a problem to engineer away. 

Today, the natural gas system absorbs much of the winter surge directly, heating millions of homes without placing equivalent pressure on the grid — a vast reliability asset that policy discussions consistently undercount. 

We saw what happens when redundancy disappears. Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January 2024, a cold snap pushed the regional grid to its limit. The Northwest was importing nearly 5,000 megawatts from California and beyond. Wind generation collapsed across much of the region. An unexpected outage hit Jackson Prairie, the region's largest natural gas storage field, at the worst possible moment. 

The Western Power Pool called it a tipping point; the region narrowly avoided rolling blackouts. What the event made undeniable: operating without excess capacity and fuel diversity creates real risk. What rarely gets mentioned — on the coldest day of that snap, direct-use natural gas supplied more than 70 percent of the region's total energy needs, complementing the electric grid precisely when it was most strained. 

If heating demand shifts onto the electric grid at the pace state policy contemplates, the scale becomes enormous. E3 projects widespread building electrification could raise regional winter peak demand by nearly 30 gigawatts — equivalent to another Northwest hydropower system — while the region already faces a nine-gigawatt shortfall by 2030. The problem is sharpest during prolonged cold, when heat pump efficiency degrades and backup resistance heating kicks in, creating needle peaks at the worst moment for grid operators. 

The E3 analysis confirms what January 2024 demonstrated: meeting this challenge requires every tool working together. New natural gas peaking generation is part of the least-cost reliable pathway through the transition. Direct gas use in homes and businesses keeps winter load off the grid — a distributed reliability asset no wire or battery can easily replicate on the coldest days. Expanded renewables, new transmission, and clean firm capacity are essential too. A diversified system drawing on the complementary strengths of multiple fuels is the formula most likely to deliver reliability and affordability through the transition. 

What that means for Washington is concrete. State policy should permit new natural gas peaking capacity as a bridge until clean firm technologies are commercially mature. It should align the pace of building and transportation electrification mandates with the rate at which clean firm generation and transmission can be built. And it should treat direct natural gas heating in homes and businesses as a reliability resource that prevents those needle peaks from forming.  

None of this is an argument against decarbonization — significant progress is both achievable and necessary. It is an argument for how we get there without leaving families cold or bills unaffordable. The Pacific Northwest's energy strength has always come from diversity: hydro and thermal, wind and solar, supply and efficiency, pipe and wire working in concert. That same instinct — applied to a cleaner, electrified future — remains the surest path to a reliable, resilient, and affordable system. The answer is not all electric or all gas. It is a smarter, better-integrated combination of both. 

Kurt Miller is the CEO & Executive Director for the Northwest Public Power Association, representing more than 150 community-owned electric utilities across 10 Western states, including Washington. 

Oregon/Washington Litigation Represents a ‘Hidden Tax’ on Electricity, Increased Threat of Blackouts (Northwest Public Power Association)

NWPPA Calls for Course Correction, Transparency from Oregon and Washington

December 16, 2025

(VANCOUVER, WASH.) - -  The US Department of Justice filed its response last night to a motion for injunctive relief against Columbia River System Operations. The motion is led by the State of Oregon and supported by the State of Washington. In its filing, DOJ included cost estimates provided by the Bonneville Power Administration. BPA estimates Oregon’s motion would raise rates for the not-for-profit utilities it serves across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming by an alarming 17%, with electricity customers bearing the costs.[i]

The measures in the motion for injunctive relief would deplete the region of much-needed reliable, affordable, carbon-free hydropower without providing any proven benefits for salmon. In last night’s filing, BPA also warned of the inevitability of frequent grid emergencies--meaning likely energy shortages and rotating blackouts--if the motion for injunctive relief is approved by the court.

“The litigation is like a hidden double-digit tax on electricity customers that threatens real harm to lower-income families, schools, farms, and businesses without providing any proven benefits to salmon,” said Kurt Miller, CEO & executive director of NWPPA. “BPA’s official analysis directly refutes plaintiff groups’ unsupported assertions that the lawsuit would have little impact on electricity rates or public safety."

“NWPPA and its partner organizations, including the Public Power Council, Northwest RiverPartners, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, and the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, previously warned that the latest round of litigation, initiated by Gov. Tina Kotek and supported by Gov. Bob Ferguson, threatens to hurt the very citizens who they were elected to represent,” Miller continued.

Several recent reports demonstrate the Pacific Northwest is at an abnormally high risk of blackouts.[ii],[iii] Meanwhile, residents across the Northwest report affordability as a top energy concern as residents continue to face price pressures across essential goods.[iv]

Miller noted that there is an opportunity to build upon Northwest examples where tribes, utilities, and agencies partner on solutions—such as the Upper Columbia United Tribes’ Phase 2 Implementation Plan (P2IP)[v]—that improve salmon outcomes without sacrificing clean, dispatchable hydropower.

“Northwesterners deserve solutions, not surprises,” Miller said. “We invite federal action agencies, tribal leaders, and state energy and environmental departments to the same table with public power utilities to craft a workable, science‑based package that protects salmon and keeps hydropower abundant, reliable, and affordable.”

NWPPA is not a party to the litigation, but appreciates the efforts of intervener defendants, such as the Public Power Council, Northwest Requirements Utilities, and the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, which are dedicating time and resources to defend the benefits of the federal hydropower system. Any questions pertaining to litigation efforts on behalf of public power and its navigation and agriculture partners should be directed to those entities. 

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About NWPPA

NWPPA is a not‑for‑profit regional association representing over 150 community‑owned electric utilities across 10 Western states and British Columbia. NWPPA also serves more than 400 associate members allied with the not‑for‑profit utility industry. For more information, visit www.nwppa.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.

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[i] Multiple factors impact customer rates. BPA expert testimony indicates the measures in the injunctive relief motion would add 17% rate pressure to Preference Customer rates (i.e., not-for-profit utilities who have long-term contracts with BPA). For not-for-profit utilities, 100% of the costs are borne by the customers.

[ii] Solutions to Improve Interregional Transmission Planning and Permitting

[iii] NERC 2025 Winter Reliability Assessment

[iv] Pacific Northwest residents worried about electricity costs more than climate change, according to recent polling – Northwest RiverPartners

[v] Phase 2 Implementation Plan (P2IP): Testing Feasibility of Reintroduced Salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin - Upper Columbia United Tribes

 

Pacific Northwest Residents Worried About Electricity Costs More Than Climate Change, According to Recent Polling (Northwest RiverPartners)

New survey shows people concerned about rising energy costs and strongly support our region’s hydroelectric system

December 8, 2025

(VANCOUVER, WA) - - Pacific Northwest residents are feeling the pressure of rising energy costs, according to recent opinion polling commissioned by Northwest RiverPartners.

In a region with historically affordable energy, residents across Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho expressed concerns about electricity costs. Nearly nine in 10 residents, or 88 percent of those surveyed, reported that the cost of electricity is a serious or somewhat serious problem.

Affordability has now overtaken climate change as the top energy concern for Pacific Northwest residents for the second year in a row, according to this survey, challenging a widely held assumption that climate change is the most pressing energy worry. Northwest RiverPartners has partnered with the independent research firm DHM to administer this statistically significant survey since 2007.

“Rising energy costs are impacting folks around the country, but especially here in the Pacific Northwest. We need energy stability to help reduce financial uncertainty for our residents, small business owners and farmers. As the cornerstone of our region’s energy system, hydropower continues to stand out as the leading source of affordable, clean and reliable energy,” says Clark Mather, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners.

To underscore the growing concern about energy costs, according to the U.S Energy Information Administration, between May 2024 and May 2025, the average energy price for retail electric customers in Washington state increased by 12.6 percent, compared to only a 6.5 percent increase nationally.

“When prices rise everywhere—from groceries to housing—energy bills don’t exist in a vacuum,” says LaTasha Wortham, Deputy Director of Customer Experience and External Affairs at Tacoma Public Utilities. “We are seeing a growing number of customers seeking assistance with their energy bills for the first time. These economic pressures are having real impacts on our customers and communities.”

Despite growing concerns about cost, hydropower maintains broad bipartisan support in the Pacific Northwest. 77 percent of residents surveyed stated they support the use of hydroelectric dams. Hydropower is viewed by residents as a renewable and affordable source of energy, and when asked about removing dams on the lower Snake River, fewer than one in four support it. Half of the residents cited rising electricity costs as one of their top concerns with dam removal.

“Right now, families are under intense pressure. We’re talking to parents, seniors and working people who are making impossible choices just to cover the basics like rent, food, childcare and keeping the lights on,” says Alan Walker, executive director of the Chelan Douglas Community Action Council. “When you’re worried about meeting your most fundamental needs, the day-to-day reality is focused on survival.”

To learn more about the residential polling on hydropower and the growing concern about energy costs, visit the Northwest RiverPartners website.

Guest Essay: BPA’s approach to salmon deserves credit, not criticism (Seattle Times, WA - Via The Energy News Feed)

Aug. 21, 2025 at 3:31 pm

The Bonneville Power Administration’s leadership and investment in salmon recovery have helped the Columbia Basin achieve important gains, despite significant environmental pressures, writes the author.

By Kurt Miller

Special to The Seattle Times

A recent Seattle Times op-ed (“BPA plan puts progress on clean energy and salmon recovery at risk,” Aug. 7) misrepresents the Bonneville Power Administration’s contribution to salmon recovery, suggesting that BPA’s proposal to move away from a decades-old goal of 5 million returning salmon signals a lack of commitment.

The opposite is true.

No other energy provider in the nation has invested more in restoring fish runs. Since the mid-1980s, BPA’s ratepayers have funded over $8 billion in habitat restoration, fish passage improvements, hatcheries and research — an unmatched commitment to the environment and the region’s communities. Much of this investment has gone directly to tribally led restoration and enhancement projects, providing long-term funding while creating stable jobs and economic opportunities in Northwest tribal communities.

Most recently, BPA committed $200 million over 20 years to help fund the study of the reintroduction of salmon above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams. This important work, led by the Upper Columbia United Tribes, represents the type of partnership that the region should look toward — one that helps salmon without harming critical hydropower production.

When the Northwest Power and Conservation Council set its goal of 5 million returning adult salmon and steelhead in the late 1980s, it wasn’t based on rigorous ecosystem modeling, climate science or feasibility analysis. It was essentially an aspirational doubling of returns at the time; easy to remember, but never intended as a realistic, science-based benchmark.

In 2025, continuing to use that figure as the main yardstick ignores the realities fish face today: warming temperatures, changing ocean conditions, shrinking estuaries, and surging populations of marine predators, like seals and sea lions. The council’s recovery targets must be updated to reflect current conditions — not those of 40 years ago. BPA is right to push for metrics rooted in science and adapted to modern environmental challenges so that we can develop a realistic path forward.

Critics often downplay the fact that salmon returns in the Columbia Basin have tripled since the first federal dam was built, arguing it “doesn’t tell the whole story.” While no single statistic can paint an entire picture, the comparison speaks volumes: In other major West Coast rivers without large-scale hydropower — such as Alaska’s Yukon or British Columbia’s Fraser — salmon runs have plummeted over the past 50 years. Against that backdrop of decline, the Columbia Basin’s improved returns are not just a statistic, they’re a significant achievement born of decades of targeted investment and innovation. That’s not the record of an agency walking away from its responsibility — it’s the record of one carrying it out with persistence and scale.

Hydroelectric dams do more than provide revenue for salmon enhancement projects — they are a foundation of the Northwest’s energy security. They generate flexible, carbon-free electricity that keeps the lights on when wind and solar can’t. In terms of reliability, it takes roughly 5 megawatts of wind, solar and batteries to replace one megawatt of hydropower capacity, which means that existing hydropower projects are the most cost-effective sources of energy we have by far.

In Washington, where over one-third of residents rely on some form of government assistance to make ends meet, losing hydropower capacity would mean steeper electric bills and greater blackout risks. As U.S. Sen. Patty Murray concluded in 2022, the region’s dams are irreplaceable, given current technologies, for keeping energy reliable, clean and affordable.

The Northwest Power Act rightly directs BPA to protect fish while maintaining an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply. Achieving that balance requires recovery goals grounded in science, responsive to changing conditions, and focused on strategies with the highest biological payoff.

BPA’s leadership and investment in salmon recovery have helped the Columbia Basin achieve important gains, despite significant environmental pressures. With realistic, science-based goals, the region can build on this progress while continuing to address the work that remains.

Kurt Miller: is the CEO & Executive Director of the Northwest Public Power Association, representing over 150 not-for-profit electric utilities across 10 Western states and British Columbia.

U.S. DOE Secretary Expresses Support for the Lower Snake River Dams (Northwest Public Power Association)

(WASHINGTPN, DC) - - In response to a question from Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) at a May 7 budget hearing, Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he is “passionately in support” of keeping the lower Snake River dams in place.

“They’ve been tremendous assets for decades,” Wright said of the dams. “We should not spend money to go backwards to reduce our energy generating capacity.”

Wright said hydropower facilities will become more important resources as demand for electricity in the United States rises.

“When America was bold, we built a number of great dams,” Wright said. “They’ve been critical to the economic prosperity of our country, very early suppliers of firm, reliable power … they provide what I call high-value electricity, which means it’s there when you need it and you can hold it back when you don’t need it. They’re very valuable assets.”

NWPPA has long supported keeping the lower Snake River dams, which are a critical power resource in the Northwest.

“Public power utilities across the region deeply appreciate Secretary Wright’s strong endorsement of the lower Snake River dams,” said NWPPA CEO and Executive Director Kurt Miller. “His remarks affirm the essential role these projects play in keeping electricity reliable and affordable for the communities we serve. As demand for clean, firm power continues to grow, the lower Snake River dams remain a cornerstone of our region’s energy infrastructure and a vital asset for not-for-profit, community-owned utilities.”

BPA Safe From Additional Staffing Cuts, DOE’s Wright Tells House Committee (Northwest Public Power Association)

(WASHINGTON, DC) - - At a May 7 budget hearing Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development that there will be no more staffing cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration.

“We [DOE] have been specific in saying we can’t have people leave from Bonneville Power and the other power-marketing agencies, because I don’t think we have room to reduce head count there anymore,” Wright said.

BPA lost 194 employees in the Trump administration’s first round of deferred resignations, and 162 in the second buyout offer, a considerable loss to its workforce of around 3,000. Federal power marketing administrations have struggled to fill key roles, especially in control centers and line crews. NWPPA supports ensuring healthy staffing levels at the power marketing administrations, which s critical for ensuring that safe, reliable, and affordable power is available in the Northwest.

“We sincerely appreciate Secretary Wright’s commitment to maintaining healthy staffing levels at both BPA and WAPA—two agencies that play a vital role in supporting community-owned electric utilities across the West,” said NWPPA CEO and Executive Director Kurt Miller. “As a critical next step, we urge the U.S. Department of Energy to lift the hiring freeze at the power marketing administrations to ensure they have the workforce needed to meet today’s energy challenges.”

Update on WAPA’s Project Work & Workforce Capacity from the Administrator & Chief Executive Officer (Western Area Power Administration)

 

Dear Customers and Partners,

I want to personally thank you for your continued support and partnership as WAPA navigates one of the most challenging periods in our history. I also want to provide you with a transparent update on where we stand and how we are adapting to ensure we continue delivering the reliable, cost-based power you depend on.

Over the past several months, WAPA has experienced significant shifts in workforce capacity. Longstanding vacancies, combined with impacts from the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Energy Deferred Resignation Programs, attrition, and an ongoing hiring freeze, have significantly strained our ability to deliver the full volume of work we have traditionally maintained.

Even before these changes, we recognized that our infrastructure workload was growing beyond our existing resources. In 2024, WAPA leadership began working to better understand the nature and volume of the necessary and requested infrastructure projects across the enterprise in the next five years. From this effort, we identified over 200 projects (and growing) across a spectrum of needs including replacing aging infrastructure, meeting our tariff obligations, and being responsive to customer needs. We recognized that we would need to coordinate and plan in new ways to ensure we could meet this work in the most timely and effective way possible. The reduction in workforce capacity this year has further magnified this need. Recently, we iterated this internal planning work to focus particularly on projects through the end of CY 2025 that require and traditionally rely on shared services support from WAPA Headquarters, including (but not limited to) procurement, engineering, lands, and environmental compliance – to ensure that critical projects continue moving forward efficiently and most importantly, safely.

The sequencing of projects is not a temporary measure. It reflects a strategic shift in how WAPA manages workload to match available workforce capacity, prioritize essential needs, and safeguard system reliability. It also reinforces our commitment to being good stewards of the resources entrusted to us – ensuring we do not overextend our teams in ways that could compromise safety or operational continuity.

To be clear, while sequencing guides how certain projects are staged through the needed shared services, other work continues as well. Projects not identified in the current sequence are not being canceled. Rather, they are being scheduled with consideration for available resources and the evolving demands on our workforce.

Throughout all of this, safety remains WAPA’s first priority. We have reinforced to all employees the importance of maintaining situational awareness, exercising stop-work authority when necessary, and taking the time needed to perform work safely and thoughtfully. We understand that a strained workforce can heighten risks, and we are committed to ensuring that safety remains at the center of every decision we make.

We also deeply value the trust you place in WAPA. Your support, collaboration, and flexibility over the past few months have been critical in helping us navigate these unprecedented challenges. We will continue communicating openly and frequently as we move forward, and we remain committed to working in partnership with you to achieve our shared goals.

Thank you again for your trust and understanding. I want to share my personal gratitude to the many customers who have reached out to inquire about our employees and expressed your support.

If you have any questions or would like additional information about project sequencing, workforce impacts, or near-term priorities, your regional leadership team and I are available to assist.

With appreciation,

Tracey A. LeBeau

Administrator and Chief Executive Officer

U.S. Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration

NOAA Staffing Cuts Threaten Years of Salmon Harvests (NY Times)

In Washington, where salmon is a multibillion dollar industry, government staff terminations and budget freezes may put salmon production at risk.

In Washington State, April is when millions of young Chinook salmon are released from hatcheries, where they started as tiny, pink globes, to swim downstream and rebuild the salmon population. They are part of an ecosystem that affects tribal, commercial, and recreational fishing and are a main source of food for endangered killer whales.

But this year, almost a dozen hatcheries in the Puget Sound region are in limbo because a single employee from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was terminated in February, a casualty of cuts made by billionaire Elon Musk’s advisory group known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

That employee was Krista Finlay and her job at NOAA was to ensure hatcheries complied with the Endangered Species Act before the fish were released into Puget Sound. She was among tens of thousands of federal employees with probationary status who lost their jobs in February. Ms. Finlay, who had worked at NOAA since March 2024 after more than two years as an intern and then fellow, said she feared for the salmon run.

“If I don’t release millions and millions of salmon, there’s less this year and years going forward,” Ms. Finlay said. “If we don’t have salmon returning in 2027 and 2028, we don’t have offspring to release the following year, so it will take many, many years to repair this, if it’s even possible.”

Since January, the Trump administration has cut more than 56,000 employees across dozens of federal agencies — ranging from workers who fight wildfires on federal land to those who research vaccines to prevent the next pandemic. Some employees have been reinstated while many others are still on administrative leave and unable to do their work.

In response to a request for comment, Rachel Hager, a public affairs officer with NOAA Fisheries, wrote in an email that “Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters.”

In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are deeply interwoven into the economic and cultural fabric. Over the last century, there’s been a well-documented decline in the number of salmon returning to Washington’s rivers, a shrinkage driven by habitat degradation, climate change and over harvesting.

Under NOAA, hatcheries have become vital to keeping salmon in some rivers, according to Daniel Schindler, an ecology professor at the University of Washington who studies fisheries.

“It’s safe to say that one of the critical roles that NOAA plays is to ensure that hatcheries are operated in a way to minimize impact on wild fish, particularly endangered stocks,” Dr. Schindler said. “Reducing those hatchery releases impacts everything from providing food for marine mammals to supporting tribal and sport fisheries.”

Ms. Finlay and most other reinstated NOAA employees have not regained access to their work accounts. Many also haven’t received official notices of termination that would allow them to more easily apply for unemployment or transfer insurance benefits for their families.

Mark Baltzell was also terminated in February from his government position as a fishery management specialist following decades doing similar work with Washington State’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. He said there are only a few people in NOAA who understand how the complicated management agencies for fisheries fit together.

“The more you diminish that capacity and the people involved in that work, it’s like the domino effect,” Mr. Baltzell said. “You start having a ripple effect on other parts of management or recovery of these populations.”

About 12 million Chinook salmon that are usually released each year could be affected, said Adrian Spidle, a fishery geneticist with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, an agency representing 20 tribes.

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission has helped forecast the return of salmon populations since the 1970s, and used those models to estimate how to sustain a healthy fish population and harvest. The responsibility for managing the fisheries and the salmon harvest is shared by the tribes and Washington State, and overseen by NOAA.

“NOAA either has to replace that person or give that person’s work to somebody,” Mr. Spidle said. “The thing about NOAA cutting people is that they can cut people but it doesn’t cut their obligations.”

Since the federal workers were terminated, communication with NOAA has been challenging for Mr. Spidle and others who work on the salmon program.

“Right now it goes back and forth whether we can even talk to NOAA people,” he said.

“It’s more complicated than the loss of one person,” he added, “it impacts all of us.”

David Troutt, the natural resources director for the Nisqually Indian Tribe said the loss of NOAA staff members who have dedicated careers to this work are hard to replace. “Even if the funding were restored, or NOAA was able to hire additional staff, they’re likely going to hire folks with less experience and understanding of the issues,” Mr. Troutt said. “I don’t know what the long term consequences of this might be.”

APPA Urges Members to Contact Lawmakers on Federal Funding Freeze Impacts, Seeks Details on Member Awards (American Public Power Association)

(WASHINGTON, DC) - - To better understand the impact of federal funding freezes on APPA members, APPA asks members to let the association know if a federal funding award has been “frozen” or delayed for members. In addition, APPA is seeking details on the award stage a member is in (i.e., a grant has been announced, a grant agreement and/or contract has been signed, a member is awaiting reimbursement, etc.), and the program under which a grant has been received (i.e., the DOE GRIP Program). Please provide these details to APPA’s David Hadley at: dhadley@publicpower.org. Additionally, if APPA members have been affected by these freezes, APPA is strongly encouraging members to tell their congressional delegations about the impact the freeze is or will have on their communities, customers, and the utility in question.

Redundant Environmental Review is Unlawful, Misleading, and Jeopardizes Services to Millions (Northwest RiverPartners, Vancouver, WA)

Regional Coalition of Power, Navigation, and Agriculture Users Push Back on New Federal Environmental Review

(PORTLAND, OR) - - A coalition of regional leaders calls on the federal government to withdraw its decision to initiate new environmental reviews of the Columbia and Snake River dams. ​The coalition contends that a new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis would be both premature and unlawful, warning that it would be incomplete and could mislead the public about these dams' vital role in supporting the region’s economy and environment.

Given the sharp rise in energy costs and the notable improved recovery of salmon and steelhead returns, the coalition urges the federal government to withdraw its intent to pursue new environmental analyses on the operations of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. This diverse group, representing millions of electric customers, businesses, farmers, and river commerce leaders, is concerned that additional reviews are unnecessary at this time.

​The coalition argues that any supplemental NEPA analysis would be fundamentally flawed and misleading. There are significant concerns regarding the Co-Lead Agencies’ proposal to base the analysis on interim reports from the 12/14 Agreement studies and unscientific policy documents, which lack conclusive findings. Relying on these incomplete studies undermines the integrity of the NEPA process and risks rendering the Final NEPA document unlawful, as NEPA is designed to promote informed decision-making. According to the coalition, proceeding with a NEPA analysis based on such interim reports does not fulfill this essential objective.

The proposed environmental review could lead to breaching federal hydropower facilities that serve as the largest source of affordable, reliable, clean energy for millions of people in the region while also providing world-class, clean river transportation for the regions and nation’s economies.

The coalition responded to the Biden Administration's decision to move forward with a “Notice of Intent” to redo an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) completed in 2020. That study–just four years old–cost regional electric customers more than $55 million and considered more than 400,000 comments before concluding that our hydropower dams need to stay in place.

The 2020 study concluded that federal hydropower dams and locks are essential to maintaining affordable electric rates, reliable energy service to homes and businesses, and lower carbon emissions. Hydropower is the largest source of affordable, renewable, dispatchable generation in the Pacific Northwest.

Since that time, energy load forecasts have exploded. According to a 2024 report from the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee, “Demand for electricity is projected to increase from about 23,700 average megawatts (aMW) in 2024 to about 31,100 aMW in 2033 (an increase of 7,400 aMW), which is an increase in demand of over 30% in the next 10 years.”

The federal government’s decision comes as electricity cost increases in the Pacific Northwest far outpace the national growth rate. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail electric rates across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana increased between 5.9-11.4% between 2022 and 2023— doubling (or far more) the 2.6% average rate of increase across the U.S. during the same period. The decision to proceed with additional environmental studies ignores publicly available data showing significant, sustained increases in fish returns.

Average salmon and steelhead returns have more than tripled at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and more than quadrupled at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River during the last 15 years when compared to the first adult fish counts at those facilities, according to data sourced from the University of Washington College of the Environment’s Data Access in Real Time (DART) website.

Further, a peer-reviewed study commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2021, “Climate change threatens Chinook Salmon through their lifecycle,” provided the following conclusions:

• “Survival through Columbia and Snake River dams generally now meets recovery targets (>96%), and cumulative mortality over 500 km of in-river migrating fish (~50%) is similar to that estimated for unregulated rivers of similar length (i.e., Fraser River).”
•  “Our analysis showed relative resilience in freshwater stages, with the dominant driver toward extinction being rising SST (sea surface temperature), which tracked a ~90% decline in survival in the marine life stage.”
•  “Our results indicate that as one symptom of a changing ocean, rising SST (sea surface temperature) puts all of our study populations at high risk of extinction, despite actions within the hydrosystem to speed juvenile travel and increase in-river survival.”

This diverse group of power, navigation, and agricultural users in the Northwest has a strong demonstrated history, and a continued commitment, to engaging when appropriate in proper reviews of programs and policies impacting the Columbia River Basin, its citizens, economies, and the environment. To that end, this coalition will continue to carefully monitor developments on this proposed environmental review and potential impacts to the Northwest.

The Columbia Basin Regional Alliance for Transparent (RAFT) is a coalition formed by the Public Power Council, the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Northwest RiverPartners, Northwest Requirements Utilities, and other concerned stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest who are dedicated to safeguarding the value of hydropower and preserving the vitality of river commerce activities in and along the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Media Contacts:

•  Kurt Miller, Executive Director, Northwest Public Power Association - kurt@nwppa.org
• Zabyn Towner, Executive Director, Northwest Requirements Utilities - ztowner@nru-nw.com
• Clark Mather, Executive Director, Northwest RiverPartners - clark@nwriverpartners.org
• Neil Maunu, Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association - neil.maunu@pnwa.net
• Scott Simms, CEO & Executive Director, Public Power Council - ssimms@ppcpdx.org
• Michelle Hennings, Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers - michelle@wawg.org

Additional Supporting Organizations:

• Association of Washington Business
• Idaho Consumer Utilities Association 
• Idaho Wheat Commission
• Montana Electric Cooperatives Association
• Oregon Municipal Electric Utilities Association
• Oregon People’s Utility District Association
• Oregon Wheat Commission
• Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• Washington Public Utility Districts Association
• Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• Washington State Water Resources Association

The Energy News Digest for June 26, 2024

The Northwest Public Power Association sponsors the Energy News Digest. 

The News Digest on Facebook and Twitter will bring breaking news throughout the week.

Subscribe to The Energy News Digest.

Items of Note from the Northwest Public Power Association

This Friday is the deadline for submitting NWPPA Excellence in Communications Award applications.

The Excellence in Communications Contest is an awards competition open to NWPPA utility and association members. Public power professionals are invited to submit the best content created by or on behalf of their utility or organization. All photo entries will automatically be entered into the People’s Choice Awards contest. Awards for both contests are presented each year at NWPPA’s Northwest Innovations in Communications Conference.

Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories

Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/chelan-douglas-and-grant-county-puds-sue-bonneville-power-and-u-s-army-corps-over/article_e1adc608-3297-11ef-bf11-57dbca5da919.html

WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_fc0d9670-3014-11ef-a04c-c777c41e883c.html

State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_635764d4-327a-11ef-85e6-4709791bce7a.html

WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c4596a64-3335-11ef-98b4-17aa10dee85d.html

WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls (Washington Standard)

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-lands-commissioner-wary-of-federal-plan-to-kill-thousands-of-owls/

News Highlights (See Stories Below)

1.    Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

2.    WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams

3.    Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) responds to President Biden’s 'Dam Breaching' Agenda

4.    Wildfire Threats Make Utility Companies Uninsurable in Northern California, Across West

5.    Hydropower Industry Seeks Navajo Support After Permits Rejected

6.    NV Energy Seeks to Prematurely Recover Costs of $4.2 Billion Greenlink Transmission Line

7.    Aging Coal Plants Are Increasingly Unreliable Due to Cycling Increases & Deferred Maintenance: NERC

8.    Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power but Doesn’t See Role as Investor

9.    State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project

10. Alaska: Angoon Celebrates Launch of Long-Awaited Hydroelectric Project

11. A Big Boost for a Climate Solution: Electricity Made from the Heat of the Earth

12. A Signature Biden Law Aimed to Boost Renewable Energy. It Also Helped a Solar Company Reap Billions

13. In Green Energy Boom, One Federal Agency Made the Yakama Nation an Offer They Had to Refuse

14. WA State: Snohomish County to Start ‘Kicking Gas’ in Push for All-Electric Homes

15. WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls

16. Have You Ever Sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to a Fish? Dozens of People Did on Saturday

17. The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects a Settlement in a Water Dispute Between New Mexico & Texas

18. WA State: Ecology Releases Final Environmental Review of Proposal to Rebuild Eightmile Lake Dam

19. WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices

20. WA to Distribute $72 Million from Carbon Market Auctions for Community Energy Projects

21. Whistleblower Lawsuit Against WSDOT, Washington Governor's Office to Move Forward

22. How Seattle Public Library's Cyberattack Impacts Patrons, Students

23. Taking A Closer Look at Artificial Intelligence’s Supposed Energy Apocalypse

24. Volkswagen's $5 Billion Investment in Rivian Boosts Electric Vehicle Maker's Shares

25. The U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Biden Administration in a Social Media Dispute with Conservative States

26. WA State: Everett Herald Journalists Stage One-Day Strike After Layoffs Announced

27. How Heat Pumps Can Turn Wasted Energy into Low-Carbon Whisky

28. At State Convention, Washington Democrats Narrowly Reject Proposal to Block Nuclear Power

29. What to Expect for Wildfire Season

30. Part of a Minnesota Home Has Plunged into the Blue Earth River as Deadly Midwest Flooding Threatens Nearby Rapidan Dam

31. Lots of Rumbling Under Mount St. Helens, But Scientists Say No Cause for Alarm

32. Guest Essay: Altering Use of Willamette River Basin Dams Would Save Money, Help Salmon

33. Podcast: Rich Glick on FERC Order 1920

34. Advertorial: Hydropower Is Ready to Step Up to the Plate Against Summer Heat

Word of the Day

Hippodrome \HIPP-uh-drome\ Noun - 1: an oval stadium for horse & chariot races in ancient Greece 2: an arena for equestrian performances.

“Harry the Horse” had grown tired of his waltz performance at the local circus. “I want to be the main act at the hippodrome, showcasing the cha-cha,” he neighed. The Hendersons simply laughed.

Energy & Utility Issues

1.      Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/chelan-douglas-and-grant-county-puds-sue-bonneville-power-and-u-s-army-corps-over/article_e1adc608-3297-11ef-bf11-57dbca5da919.html

2.      WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_fc0d9670-3014-11ef-a04c-c777c41e883c.html

3.      Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) responds to President Biden’s 'Dam Breaching' Agenda (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_2e883cc8-2e66-11ef-a8ca-7f396370fefc.html

4.      Wildfire Threats Make Utility Companies Uninsurable in Northern California, Across West (San Jose Mercury News, CA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/wildfire-threats-make-utilities-uninsurable-in-us-west/

5.      Hydropower Industry Seeks Navajo Support After Permits Rejected (Bloomberg News)

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/hydropower-industry-seeks-navajo-support-after-permits-rejected

6.      NV Energy Seeks to Prematurely Recover Costs of $4.2 Billion Greenlink Transmission Line (Nevada Current)

https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/06/20/nv-energy-seeks-to-prematurely-recover-costs-of-4-2-billion-transmission-line/

7.      Aging Coal Plants Are Increasingly Unreliable Due to Cycling Increases & Deferred Maintenance: NERC (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/coal-plant-forced-outages-rise-increasingly-unreliable-NERC/719488/

8.      Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power but Doesn’t See Role as Investor (Yahoo! News)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-tech-wants-nuclear-power-201653832.html

Renewable Energy & Self Storage

9.      State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_635764d4-327a-11ef-85e6-4709791bce7a.html

10.   Alaska: Angoon Celebrates Launch of Long-Awaited Hydroelectric Project (KTOO Radio, Juneau, AK)

https://www.ktoo.org/2024/06/20/angoon-celebrates-launch-of-long-awaited-hydroelectric-project/

11.   A Big Boost for a Climate Solution: Electricity Made from the Heat of the Earth (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/geothermal-energy-heat-renewable-power-climate-fervo-343efd2a284d975b98219e66a6043291

12.   A Signature Biden Law Aimed to Boost Renewable Energy. It Also Helped a Solar Company Reap Billions (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/biden-solar-inflation-reduction-act-dca914675cd0855004214d82aab5b10c

13.   In Green Energy Boom, One Federal Agency Made the Yakama Nation an Offer They Had to Refuse (High Country News)

https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-7/how-federal-rules-and-a-lack-of-protection-for-sacred-indigenous-sites-left-the-yakama-nation-with-an-impossible-choice/

Conservation & Efficiency

14.   WA State: Snohomish County to Start ‘Kicking Gas’ in Push for All-Electric Homes (Everett Herald, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-to-start-kicking-gas-in-push-for-all-electric-homes/

Fish & Wildlife

15.   WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls (Washington Standard)

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-lands-commissioner-wary-of-federal-plan-to-kill-thousands-of-owls/

16.   Have You Ever Sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to a Fish? Dozens of People Did On Saturday (Here Is Oregon)

https://www.hereisoregon.com/events/2024/06/have-you-ever-sung-happy-birthday-to-a-fish-dozens-of-people-did-on-saturday.html

Water, Water, Anywhere?

17.   The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects a Settlement in a Water Dispute Between New Mexico & Texas (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/texas-new-mexico-colorado-rio-grande-a624e0bf8f9d0340166e0811c74efcbb

18.   WA State: Ecology Releases Final Environmental Review of Proposal to Rebuild Eightmile Lake Dam (WA Dept. Of Ecology)

https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2024-news-stories/june-21-eightmile-lake-dam-feis

Climate Change Sequestration Vault

19.   WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c4596a64-3335-11ef-98b4-17aa10dee85d.html

20.   WA to Distribute $72 Million from Carbon Market Auctions for Community Energy Projects (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/wa-to-distribute-72-million-from-carbon-market-auctions-for-community-energy-projects/

21.   Whistleblower Lawsuit Against WSDOT, Washington Governor's Office to Move Forward (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/governor-office-wsdot-lose-bid-to-have-whistleblower-case-tossed-out/281-2e763a64-9fe7-4fb5-90b1-306257314b6a

Beam Me Up, Scotty - The Wizarding World of Technology & Cybersecurity

22.   How Seattle Public Library's Cyberattack Impacts Patrons, Students (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/news/2024/06/how-seattle-public-librarys-cyberattack-impacts-patrons-students

23.   Taking A Closer Look at Artificial Intelligence’s Supposed Energy Apocalypse (Ars Technica)

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/06/is-generative-ai-really-going-to-wreak-havoc-on-the-power-grid/

I Sing the Car Electric

24.   Volkswagen's $5 Billion Investment in Rivian Boosts Electric Vehicle Maker's Shares (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-invest-up-5-billion-rivian-part-tech-joint-venture-2024-06-25/

Public Relations, Marketing & Media

25.   The U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Biden Administration in a Social Media Dispute with Conservative States (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-rules-biden-administration-140359363.html

26.   WA State: Everett Herald Journalists Stage One-Day Strike After Layoffs Announced (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/everett/everett-herald-journalists-protest-layoffs/281-7880a4bd-ed86-4526-ac2b-36c7d93e5e6f

Barrel O’ Green Potpourri – Seething Stew of Science

27.   How Heat Pumps Can Turn Wasted Energy into Low-Carbon Whisky (Canary Media)

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-industry/how-heat-pumps-can-turn-wasted-energy-into-low-carbon-whisky

Management & Governance

28.   At State Convention, Washington Democrats Narrowly Reject Proposal to Block Nuclear Power (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/25/at-state-convention-washington-democrats-narrowly-/

Other Things to Know About Today

29.   What to Expect for Wildfire Season (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/what-expect-wildfire-season/DIFAKECZ5NALTNI5AC4MSUNMCM/

30.   Part of a Minnesota Home Has Plunged into the Blue Earth River as Deadly Midwest Flooding Threatens Nearby Rapidan Dam (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/part-minnesota-home-plunged-blue-154859241.html

31.   Lots of Rumbling Under Mount St. Helens, But Scientists Say No Cause for Alarm (KUOW Radio, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kuow.org/stories/lots-of-rumbling-under-mount-st-helens-but-scientists-say-no-cause-for-alarm

Soapbox Serenade – Vox Populi

32.   Guest Essay: Altering Use of Willamette River Basin Dams Would Save Money, Help Salmon (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/06/25/altering-use-of-willamette-river-basin-dams-would-save-money-help-salmon/

33.   Podcast: Rich Glick on FERC Order 1920 (Public Power Underground)

https://publicpowerunderground.substack.com/p/rich-glick-on-ferc-order-1920

34.   Advertorial: Hydropower Is Ready to Step Up to the Plate Against Summer Heat (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/07/hydropower-is-ready-to-step-up-to-the-plate-agains/

Alligators in the Sewer – Diversions

Super Fluffy 8-Year-Old Pekingese ‘Wild Thang’ Wins 2024 World's Ugliest Dog Contest

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/22/nx-s1-5016281/wild-thang-pekingese-winner-2024-world-ugliest-dog-contest

Not Just a Book: What Is a Gutenberg Bible? Why Is It Relevant 500 Years After Its Printing?

https://apnews.com/article/gutenberg-bibles-morgan-library-scripture-2ff65c3cdbeda696c861fef5db8b18ee

Abe Lincoln Wax Sculpture Melts in Brutal DC Heat

https://www.yahoo.com/news/abe-lincoln-wax-replica-melts-144552806.html

Idaho’s David Rush Is Closing in on the Guinness World Records Throne

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2024/06/21/David-Rush-Guinness-World-Records-road-to-181-interview/8751718893537/

Song of the Day

The Beatles – Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJNndwGFJIM

Links & Paywall Advisory

Links in The Energy News Digest are for current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links.

Although I choose stories that are accessible without paying a subscription, individual experiences may vary. Media attribution includes information about possible paywall restrictions. Regularly clearing your browser’s history and cookie files may help you access some paywall sites.