BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
2024–2028
Strategic Plan
Reliable, responsive
and resilient as we power
our clean energy future
This vision has guided BPA for decades, and it continues
to inspire us today as we look to a future with more renewable
resources, less carbon, and a reliable, resilient electric grid
capable of supporting the region’s growth.
As the Northwest’s largest supplier of clean energy and
high-voltage transmission, BPA has the opportunity to help our
customers and the region achieve these transformative goals
while protecting local natural resources and enhancing
conditions for sh and wildlife.
Since its inception, the Federal Columbia River Power System
has been a beacon of progress. With the buildout of the
expansive high-voltage transmission grid — a masterpiece in
its own right — the power of the Columbia traveled great
distances, carrying light to rural communities far and wide.
It powered shipyards and airplane factories to support the
allied victory of World War II; anchored the region
through multiple economic and energy crises; and
has long supported the region’s prosperity by
providing power for what it cost to produce.
Today, the FCRPS and its stewards
continue to reect the region’s
innovative spirit, capable of
navigating today’s turning
tide. This crucial period
will be marked by
decarbonization,
the largescale buildout of renewable energy resources, and the
associated demand for generation interconnections and
transmission service.
BPA’s 2024–2028 Strategic Plan builds on the framework of our
2018–2023 strategy, leveraging the foundational work we’ve
done in the last ve years to position the agency as a leader
in this clean energy transition. We are coming from a place
of nancial strength, with competitive rates, ample liquidity and
access to capital, and the tools to sustain this nancial founda-
tion on which we can achieve our other goals.
With sustainable nances anchoring our strategy, BPA’s
workforce is the powerhouse behind our ambitions. That is where
our strategic plan begins — with a recognition that investing
in people must come rst for us to achieve our public respon-
sibilities and meet the changing needs of our customers and
the region.
Success will include the collaborative development of widely
supported power products, policies and rate structures, resulting
in new mutually benecial sales agreements that take effect
in 2028. We will transform transmission processes and advance
infrastructure investments while engaging in the development
of organized markets and greater regional integration.
In this time of transformation, we are also preparing to withstand
growing threats. Climate change risks will intensify with expected
changes in water supply, and more frequent and severe heat
waves and wildres. Security risks, both physical and cyber, are
also mounting concerns. BPA is prioritizing actions to preserve
safe, reliable and resilient power and transmission operations in
the face of these threats.
This strategic plan charts our path forward, as we once again
evolve the FCRPS — a clean energy success story — to help
our customers, tribal partners, constituents and the Pacic
Northwest thrive in this era of energy transformation.
Building on a solid foundation
The Bonneville Power Administration is an engine of the Northwest’s
economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
2 – RELIABLE, RESPONSIVE AND RESILIENT
Invest in people
Enhance the
value of products
and services
Mature asset
management
Preserve safe,
reliable system
operations
Modernize
business systems
and processes
Sustain financial
strength
Strategic
Goals
Turning vision into reality, together
We recognize the tremendous responsibility entrusted in us on behalf of our
customers and the communities we serve.
The work we do touches the lives of millions who call this
place home, and we take great pride in BPA’s multi-faceted,
public service mission that enables the region’s quality of life.
Achieving our essential mission requires a careful balance
among many beneciaries and partners. It also requires
tremendous collaboration and the support of a broad range of
regional interests.
We have many to thank — customers, tribes, federal and state
agencies, public interest organizations and other partners —
who support our mission and contribute to our shared success.
BPA looks forward to continuing our partnerships as we
implement this strategic plan. Working together, we will serve
the public good, sustain BPA’s vital role in the Pacic Northwest
and shape an even brighter future powered by clean energy.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 3
LEGEND
Transmission line
Non-BPA line
Federal dam
BPA service area
15,000
MILES
of transmission lines
The U.S. spans less than
3,000 miles, coast to coast.
About Us
4 – RELIABLE, RESPONSIVE AND RESILIENT
Our service territory
As a federal agency, BPA has a trust responsibility and government-
to-government relationship with sovereign, federally recognized Indian
tribes. BPA acknowledges its service territory spans the traditional homelands of
over 50 Northwest tribes who continue to protect, advocate and care for their home-
lands and resources. BPA commits to continue working with tribal governments on issues
of mutual interest and shared stewardship.
Columbia River Treaty: One basin working together
With its origins in British Columbia and a drainage basin that reaches six states, the
Columbia River produces more hydropower than any other river in North America.
The U.S. and Canada signed the Columbia River Treaty in 1961, providing for
the cooperative development of the Columbia River Basin water resources.
The Treaty provides hydropower and ood control benets on both sides
of the border and makes possible other benets as well. The two
countries began negotiations to modernize the Treaty in 2018.
BPA continues to support the U.S. Department of State
in the Treaty modernization negotiations.
+ Columbia
Generating Station
344,000
acres of land conserved
for sh and wildlife.
BPA markets power from
31 federal dams
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 5
The key to BPA’s success is its people:
devoted public servants, trustworthy
stewards and champions of public power.
Further investments in our highly capable workforce
and workplace culture will contribute to greater job
satisfaction, employee wellness and work-life balance —
producing signicant benets for everyone we serve.
BPA will invest in a range of employee programs and services focused on creating and
sustaining a safer and healthier work environment. We will continue to invest in community
outreach and recruitment initiatives to advance our cultural and workforce aspirations.
BPA’s people-centric approach will extend to everyone with whom we interact — including customers,
stakeholders, tribes and potential future employees — as we contribute to a professional working
environment grounded in safety, respect, equity, diversity and inclusion.
6 – INVEST IN PEOPLE
OBJECTIVE 1 Become the safest utility in
North America by continuously improving the physical
and psychological safety of the BPA workforce.
BPA strives to provide a workplace free from safety and
health hazards. We cultivate collaborative partnerships
across the workforce and embrace a learning mindset to
drive continuous improvement in all aspects of safety,
both physical and psychological. We empower and expect
individuals to speak up when they have concerns or see
a potential hazard.
OBJECTIVE 2 Attract, retain and develop a
resilient workforce capable of achieving BPA’s mission
and strategy in a changing environment.
BPA must continue to innovate, learn and adapt to
an ever-changing environment. We will adopt policies and
practices that improve our ability to attract, retain and
develop our workforce. This includes examining and adopting
workplace exibilities that support retention, satisfaction
and engagement while ensuring we meet the responsibilities
entrusted in us as a nonprot federal power marketing
administration. We will also heighten our focus on critical
skills, growing new leaders and advancing the agency’s
overall leadership capability.
Invest in people
Foster a positive culture
and work environment that
supports a resilient,
engaged workforce
capable of delivering on
our public-service
mission and
responsibilities.
OBJECTIVE 3 Advance a positive workplace
culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion
and accessibility to ensure everyone can thrive.
When people who look, talk and think differently come
together at work, they develop innovative solutions that
benet the communities we serve. BPA is committed to
diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility at every stage
of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement,
beginning with outreach strategies to reach more diverse
applicants both in-house and outside of BPA. Everyone
can thrive when the culture supports a diverse workforce
and we come together in a supportive, collaborative
environment.
BPA’s people and culture path is one of
continuous improvement, based on safety,
diversity, inclusion and equity. As part of
our journey, we have united around a simple
but essential mantra: value people.
Those two words gained new meaning when
COVID-19 upended our lives. BPA’s prior
investment in a strong safety culture — with
safety as our top core value — aided our rapid
and steady response to the public health crisis.
Throughout the pandemic, BPA’s workforce
showed tremendous resilience by nding new
ways to perform critical business functions and
advance the agency’s major initiatives.
In the midst of the pandemic, leadership
identied the need for a heightened focus on
the agency’s people-related functions. BPA
created the Workforce and Strategy Ofce to
boost organizational cohesion, employee
satisfaction, recruitment and retention.
We are also enhancing BPA’s
Culture Strategy, rst published
in 2020, to further describe
how the Culture Ofce
and agency leadership
will invest time
and program
resources.
SINCE
2018
Despite net losses of federal employees in FY 2018–19 and record
high turnover in FY 2022, BPA ended the 5-year period with a net gain
of 19 federal employees. The net gain is projected to increase to
about 200 by the end of FY 2023 due to record hiring.
FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22
Federal staffing changes
EXTERNAL HIRES
SEPARATIONS
ANNUAL NET CHANGE
TOP-RISK MISSION CRITICAL
OCCUPATIONS
Top risk is determined by difculty to
ll, recruitment and turnover rates,
and retirement forecasts.
AUTHORIZED
POSITIONS
FILLED
As of June
2023
Auditor 14 64%
Real time trader 14 71%
System dispatcher 55 96%
Electrician and linemen 382 78%
Field district/regional manager 16 100%
Field electrical/electronics engineer 94 71%
It specialist 269 88%
Operations research analyst 48 77%
Physical/biological scientist 15 73%
Power system control craftsman 56 73%
Substation operator 153 80%
Environmental protection specialist
These four occupations
were at risk in FY 20, but
through targeted mitigation
efforts, hiring rates improved
and they were removed
from the list in FY 2023.
F&W administrator/sh biologist
Occupational safety and health
Senior executive service
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 7
-114 -30 75 50 38
As the needs of our customers
evolve, so must the products
and services we offer. Clean energy
mandates and decarbonization goals
are driving customer demand for more
renewable generation and amplifying resource
adequacy concerns brought about by a changing
resource mix.
The exible, reliable and carbon-free power of the FCRPS, coupled with the
expansive high-voltage transmission grid, is the bedrock we will build on to
meet these future needs. Actions will include reforming generation interconnection
procedures and other processes to support the unprecedented demand for new
resources. We will also provide regional leadership in the exploration of new markets
and more interconnected system operations that may enhance reliability, resilience
and sustainability.
OBJECTIVE 1 Remain public power’s
provider of choice by fully subscribing the federal
base system in long-term contracts.
For decades, BPA has served communities throughout
the Northwest through long-term power sales to regional
utilities. BPA is the sole or major power supplier for most
of these customers. With today’s contracts slated to
end in 2028, BPA is working to preserve these important
and mutually benecial relationships through its Provider
of Choice initiative. The backdrop of this undertaking
is more complex than ever before.
In developing the next generation of power sales policy
and contracts, we are committed to being responsive to our
customers’ evolving needs while working within the
framework established by BPA’s statutes. We are committed
to offering products and services that are equitable,
administratively straightforward, and offered at the lowest
possible rates consistent with sound business principles.
Beyond delivering power through the federal base system, we
seek to offer customers options that enable their investment
in and integration of nonfederal resources as well as options
for BPA to serve growing load needs. This collaborative
policy and contract work will position BPA to support our
customers and their communities for decades to come.
OBJECTIVE 2 Foster market evolution across the
West to enhance the delivery of cost-effective and
reliable service.
New markets present opportunities to enhance the delivery
of reliable, affordable and carbon-free power to our
customers through increased resource diversity. Leveraging
our experience in the Western Energy Imbalance Market,
we will help shape two market initiatives underway in the
West — the California Independent System Operator’s
Extended Day Ahead Market and Southwest Power Pool’s
Markets+ — with the goal that these market options work
with our statutory obligations and support our customers’
needs and interests. Input from our customers and the
public will inform our decision about whether to participate
in either market option.
BPA is taking an incremental approach toward more
integrated system operations that promise to enhance
reliability and resilience. BPA will position itself to consider
moving beyond a day-ahead market, if we choose to
participate in one, through the evaluation of services and
benets that could be provided by a regional transmission
operator.
Enhance the value
of products and
services
Maximize the value of the
federal system and the
products and services
we offer to meet
our customers’
evolving needs.
8 – ENHANCE THE VALUE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
OBJECTIVE 3 Support regional carbon
reduction efforts.
State policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
expand clean energy are driving this transition and
challenging the industry to develop clean alternatives
to baseload fossil fuel generation.
BPA recognizes that the federal base system is capable of
providing exible, reliable, carbon-free power that can
further enhance regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The federal hydropower system and Columbia
Generating Station produce carbon-free electricity and,
on average, the power BPA sells is about 95% carbon-free.
The emissions in the power BPA sells are attributed to
purchases in the wholesale market, which BPA has histor-
ically relied upon to balance generation and loads. These
unspecied power purchases cannot be attributed to a
specic resource, and therefore, states attribute emissions
to them.
Going forward, BPA will strive to complement the existing
system by acquiring additional cost-effective carbon-free
resources and enabling delivery of increasingly
decarbonized power to the region. Acquiring carbon-free
resources and purchases, consistent with BPA’s statutory
obligations, could reduce BPA’s total unspecied purchases
and associated emissions and help us meet load growth
with clean resources.
BPA intends to explore forward-thinking ancillary services
to support the integration of new loads and emerging
technology, as well as enable the ability to expand the
transmission available for customers, aiding the integration
and delivery of new, clean resources.
In addition, as we set other agency policies, we will weigh
the impacts of such decisions on the federal system’s
carbon content alongside other relevant considerations.
The challenge of decarbonizing is a collective one. Given
the interconnected nature of the electrical system and
power markets, BPA promotes greater coordination across
states to provide consistency in greenhouse gas accounting
and tracking the environmental attributes of power.
SINCE
2018
To maximize the value of the federal power and
transmission systems, we launched and
implemented an ambitious grid modernization
initiative that enabled BPA to join the Western
Energy Imbalance Market and laid the
foundation for future market developments. We
achieved an additional 231 average MW
of energy efciency and focused our efciency
programs on the areas that provide the
greatest value to the power system, further
extending the value of the FCRPS. With growing
customer demand for transmission service,
we improved our ability to calculate and
market available transfer capability, enabling
more efcient use of the existing system.
In the last ve years, BPA offered over
11,000 MW of transmission service
through its transmission study
and expansion process, and
customers have started
over 5,200 MW of
new service.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 9
OBJECTIVE 4 Advance transmission
investments and innovative solutions to integrate
loads and resources.
The demand for clean energy is driving the need for trans-
mission expansion to deliver energy from geographically
dispersed resources to population centers where demand
is expected to grow. Novel approaches will be needed
to address the sharp rise in generation interconnection
requests and transmission service while maintaining
reliability and managing costs.
BPA is aggressively identifying and developing transmission
expansion projects to support the clean energy goals of
our customers and the region. In a related effort, BPA
will seek potential queue reforms and related tariff changes
necessary for a rst ready/rst served approach for
generation interconnection requests, allowing us to prioritize
the most viable projects.
OBJECTIVE 5 Continue to prioritize
fish and wildlife investments based on biological
effectiveness and mitigation for FCRPS impacts.
BPA partners with tribes, states, federal and local govern-
ments, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council
and many others to mitigate the effects of constructing
and operating the FCRPS.
We will continue to meet our mitigation responsibilities
while balancing sh and wildlife stewardship with power
operations and other river uses. Effectively managing
agency costs will help sustain the agency’s financial
strength and resilience, ensuring we can continue
to invest in biologically effective measures to enhance
conditions for sh and wildlife.
Columbia Basin Fish Accords
BPA is committed to protecting, mitigating and enhancing the region’s natural resources impacted by the development
and operation of the FCRPS. We meet our mitigation responsibilities through extensive partnerships and regional
collaboration. One example: the Columbia Basin Fish Accords with tribes and states, which were extended in 2022 to
provide another $409 million for sh and wildlife mitigation through 2025. These agreements, originating in 2008, have
been effective for implementing crucial and complex sh and wildlife mitigation projects. The work conducted under
the Accords provides tangible benets to salmon and other sh and wildlife species throughout the Pacic Northwest.
10 – ENHANCE THE VALUE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
90k MW
75k MW
60k MW
45k MW
30k MW
15k MW
Generation
interconnection
requests
OBJECTIVE 6 Promote energy efficiency
investments to meet the long-term resource needs
of BPA, our customers and the region.
Energy efciency remains a cost-effective power resource
as the region — and BPA itself — seeks to decarbonize.
Recognizing our customers have wide-ranging needs and
priorities, BPA will offer a diverse portfolio of energy
efciency and demand response offerings to ensure program
benets are distributed equitably among our customers.
BPA seeks to acquire energy conservation that provides
the greatest power resource benets. Investments are
guided by BPA’s Resource Program, which identies
long-term, least-cost power resource acquisition strategies
to ensure BPA meets its future power obligations.
Energy Efficiency
BPA and its customers have achieved more than 2,500 average megawatts of energy
efciency since the passage of the Northwest Power Act in 1980, making EE the region’s
second-largest power resource behind hydropower.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 11
5 MILLION
+
LIVES POWERED
Preference customer total retail load
ACTUAL FORECAST
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
15k aMW
12k aMW
9k aMW
6k aMW
3k aMW
Financial strength is an enduring priority
for BPA. In the next ve years, we will build
on BPA’s solid nancial footing by focusing
on the core objectives and metrics in our Financial
Plan. These objectives demonstrate our commitment
to deliver on BPA’s public responsibilities and to
maintain its position as the region’s leading power and
transmission provider.
Sustain nancial
strength
Provide stable,
competitive power
and transmission
rates over the
long term.
OBJECTIVE 1 Maintain cost-management
discipline and execute capital plans.
BPA aggressively manages the costs of operating the
federal power and transmission systems, consistent with
its mission objectives and statutory obligations. Cost-
management discipline remains a key focus, as outlined
in the Financial Plan, recognizing it will require balancing
different priorities and obligations. We will rely on input
from customers and others through our Integrated Program
Review process, the public forum where we develop
forecast program costs ahead of each rate case.
As we continue to control operating costs, it is equally
important to execute on our capital plans to ensure we
maintain and preserve the value of the FCRPS. While
access to secure, low-cost capital will not be an issue for
the near future thanks to BPA’s recent substantial increase
in U.S. Treasury borrowing authority, we remain committed
to disciplined capital investments. BPA intends to develop
and execute capital plans with the goal of making the right
investments in the right assets at the right time, returning
the highest possible value for our ratepayers and the region.
OBJECTIVE 2 Maintain financial resiliency
through adequate reserves, leverage, and
U.S. Treasury borrowing authority.
Financial resilience enables BPA to withstand disruptive
events and conditions that impact revenues, expenses, or
the delivery of power and transmission services and other
regional benets. BPA achieves nancial resilience by
having sufcient liquidity to ensure all bills are paid in full
and on time; a prudent amount of leverage to help reduce
and stabilize interest costs and maintain a more stable
cost of service over time; and enough debt capacity to
ensure essential and ongoing capital investments are funded
with certainty and at low cost.
OBJECTIVE 3 Maintain high investment-grade
credit ratings.
BPA seeks to maintain high investment-grade credit
ratings on its nonfederal debt from all three major ratings
agencies. Strong credit ratings are a reection of
BPA’s nancial strength and help ensure low costs on
BPA-backed nonfederal debt.
12 – SUSTAIN FINANCIAL STRENGTH
BPA identied nancial strength as the
cornerstone of its strategic vision in 2018.
Since then, rates have stabilized through a
combination of prudent cost controls and new
revenue opportunities. We improved nancial
resiliency through policies that guide how
the agency manages reserves and reduces
debt, and Congress addressed the capital
needs of the Federal Columbia River Power
System by increasing BPA’s U.S. Treasury
borrowing authority by $10 billion. All of
these actions helped to preserve BPA’s high
investment-grade credit ratings and estab-
lished a strong footing for BPA to achieve its
longer-term strategic goals.
SINCE
2018
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
$60 MWh
$50 MWh
$40 MWh
$30 MWh
$20 MWh
$10 MWh
Historical priority firm power rates
MARKET PRICES BPA
LINEAR MARKET PRICES LINEAR BPA
ESTIMATED $11.7 B
ACTUAL $10.9 B
That’s nearly
$1,000,000,000
in cost-management driven savings
Cumulative IPR
expenses and savings
FY 2018–2023
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 13
The hydropower dams, transmission
grid and other publicly owned assets
associated with BPA’s mission play
a central role in the region’s economy and
way of life. As these assets age, as system
operations become more complex and as the
world in which we operate continues to change,
a robust asset management program ensures we can
preserve and enhance these assets so they can deliver the
greatest value to the region.
BPA is committed to continually improving its asset management program. Working closely
with our partners in the region, we will enhance risk-based decision-making to maximize
asset value, and preserve the reliability and resilience of the assets on which the Northwest relies.
We also recognize that the needs of our customers and the region cannot be met with existing
transmission infrastructure. New transmission will be built consistent with our asset management goal
of investing in the right projects at the right time.
Mature asset
management
Manage risk and
maximize asset value
by delivering the
right projects
at the right time.
OBJECTIVE 1 Improve asset management data
and system capabilities.
Quality and readily accessible data are critical to BPA’s
asset management maturity. BPA will optimize system
applications to better understand asset information and
the various asset life cycle components.
OBJECTIVE 2 Enhance risk-based
decision-making and portfolio optimization.
The basis of asset management is an understanding of
each asset’s criticality, health and risk, or CHR. Criticality
measures the asset’s importance to BPA’s business or
the consequence of failure; health measures the asset’s
condition; and risk describes the impact of uncertainty
for those assets. This understanding is necessary for
risk-based decisions and is supported by the data and
system capabilities BPA will achieve through objective 1.
BPA will apply consistent governance, processes and
decision criteria, leveraging CHR data, to sharpen project
prioritization and better inform investment decisions.
An integrated analytical method, which considers impacts
such as environmental change, ination and supply
chain challenges, will further support risk-based decision-
making and maximize asset value.
14 – MATURE ASSET MANAGEMENT
1,000
BPA-owned and operated facilities
2.8 million sq. ft.
of substations, control centers,
warehouses and ofce buildings
SINCE
2018
BPA has taken a risk-based decision-making
approach to managing the federal portfolio
of assets. This effort began with the adoption of
industry-leading principles and practices, con-
sistent with the Institute of Asset Management
framework that emphasizes data-driven
investments based on criticality, health and
risk methodologies. We developed 10-year
Strategic Asset Management Plans for each
asset category and tied the SAMPs to our
Integrated Program Review process to better
inform our capital spending forecasts. We
also began issuing annual asset plans that
outline how BPA will implement the
SAMPs. Through these efforts and by
continuing to strengthen collabo-
ration with our asset partners,
we have improved our
foundation to strategi-
cally plan for and
prioritize future
investments.
Seven asset categories, many asset partners
BPA’s asset management program is complex, with
assets that are diverse in age, geography and function;
asset categories in various states of maturity;
and reliance on extensive regional partnerships. These
assets enable the delivery of essential power and
transmission services valued at billions of dollars each
year, as well as regional benets for sh and wildlife.
1. Federal hydropower: 31 federal dams
2. Transmission: 15,000 miles of transmission line,
260-plus substations and associated equipment
3. Facilities: substations, control centers,
warehouses and ofce buildings
4. IT: equipment and systems
5. Fish and wildlife: hatcheries, land protected by
conservation easements and sh screens
6. Fleet: vehicles and heavy equipment
7. Physical security: fencing, cameras and other
protective measures
BPA does not manage these assets alone. For example,
we work with federal dam operators — the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation —
to support risk-based decisions for the region’s federal
hydropower assets. We rely on extensive partnerships
with tribes, states, federal and state agencies, nonprot
organizations and many others in the management
of sh and wildlife assets. Input from our stakeholders
during the Integrated Program Review, where we share
Strategic Asset Management Plans and seek feedback
on associated capital forecasts, is also important.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 15
2,250
VEHICLES AND
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
BPA has more than eight decades of
experience maintaining safe, reliable
power and transmission operations, a feat
that required continual adjustment as the
Northwest’s grid evolved over time. We are prepared
to continue this legacy as new and emerging
reliability and security risks challenge the grid. Key
considerations are the impacts of extreme weather,
wildres, cyber and physical attacks, and the integration of
more variable energy resources.
The operation of the interconnected power grid requires a greater level of collaboration and
cooperation going forward to ensure we can operate a reliable, resilient and secure grid for the
customers and communities we serve.
Preserve safe and
reliable system
operations
Protect and enhance
the delivery of power
and transmission
services in an
evolving
landscape.
16 – PRESERVE SAFE AND RELIABLE SYSTEM OPERATIONS
OBJECTIVE 2 Strengthen resilience in
preparation for high-impact events and system change.
Climate-related risks and security threats — both physical
and cyber — have intensied. At the same time, the
resource and load mix is changing, with fewer baseload
resources available and more variable energy resources
connecting to the grid. BPA will ensure it is better pre-
pared to respond to and recover from high-impact events
as the system continues to change. BPA’s participation
in the development of the Western Resource Adequacy
Program will continue as a way to take advantage
of diverse energy resources and meet capacity needs.
We are hardening facilities and communications systems
to enable continued operations through high-impact
events and prioritizing proactive actions to improve our
ability to respond to disruptions. This includes developing
tools to improve situational awareness for wildres, cyber
threats and severe weather.
OBJECTIVE 1 Implement operational
improvements that support grid reliability.
We will continue to maximize the capacity of the existing
grid through a combination of operational studies,
visualization tools, congestion management and other
operational improvements. We recognize the challenge
of building new transmission lines, including long lead
times, signicant costs and environmental impacts.
While our strategy includes non-wires solutions when
available, we are also planning substantial transmission
expansion investments.
OBJECTIVE 3 Advance a culture of compliance
to meet changing requirements, improve reliability and
manage risk.
As the world around us evolves, so does the regulatory
environment in which we operate. Improvements in internal
practices and capabilities will accommodate change and
reduce risk associated with meeting changing compliance
standards. Work will include increased engagement with
regulators, as well as advancements in internal controls
and causal analysis.
Sustainability and resilience
Sustainability and resilience are inextricably linked, with the shared goal to protect people, assets and the environment
in uncertain, sometimes extreme conditions. BPA’s Sustainability Ofce and Resilience Program work closely
to ensure the agency continues to thrive in a rapidly changing, resource-constrained environment. BPA developed
its rst Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Plan in late 2022, and both programs will continue to
collaborate to further embed climate resilience into BPA’s critical business functions.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 17
SINCE
2018
The grid modernization initiative BPA launched
in 2018 included a portfolio of projects aimed to
improve automation, accuracy and visibility.
Many of these projects, now completed, targeted
operational and reliability benets that BPA is
able to leverage today through our participation
in the Western Energy Imbalance Market.
In addition, BPA actively engaged in the funding
and development of the Western Resource
Adequacy Program, which is now operating
under an independent board of directors and a
tariff approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
BPA invested in signicant upgrades to its
automatic generation control system, improving
the exibility of the federal hydropower system
while preserving grid stability. We further
advanced our goals for safe and reliable service
through our Wildre Mitigation Plan. Released
in 2020, the plan aims to protect public safety
and preserve the reliable delivery of electricity
through proactive and responsive measures.
BPA continues to enhance this plan, which
includes a public safety power shutoff procedure
and industry-leading vegetation management.
Climate-related hazards that could
impact critical systems
More frequent,
longer and more intense
heat waves
Increased coastal ooding
due to sea-level rise
More extreme
heavy rainfall events
More frequent,
severe wildres and
longer re seasons
More frequent,
intense inland ooding
More landslides
As we prioritized the budget
and stafng resources
associated with grid modernization
and maintained competitive rates
in recent years, BPA took prudent cost-
control measures in other parts of the
business. We are now sharpening our focus
on needed investments to improve foundational
internal business systems and processes. These
enhancements will support our ability to deliver reliable,
resilient and competitive power and transmission services
as the electricity industry landscape continues to change.
Modernize business
systems and
processes
Improve the efciency, accuracy
and exibility of internal
business capabilities.
18 – MODERNIZE BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
OBJECTIVE 1 Develop more cost-effective,
well-organized and efficient systems for managing
technology and business operations.
To keep pace with changing markets and customer needs,
BPA will seek technology solutions that enable greater
exibility and enhance efciency across our enterprise.
Further development of enterprise architecture — a blue-
print that converges technology and business processes
— will create tighter alignment of agency priorities with
information technology service delivery, reducing the cost
and complexity of BPA’s corporate operations.
OBJECTIVE 2 Strengthen the resiliency and
security of information and operational technology.
BPA is constantly advancing its cybersecurity protections
to guard the agency from the latest threats. One area of
signicant focus is overcoming barriers to real-time threat
detection for critical infrastructure, with an eye toward
centralized monitoring of substations and substation net-
works. This involves the deployment of automated systems
that monitor and manage the generation and delivery
of power, otherwise known as operational technology.
BPA will continue to expand its Continuous Diagnostics and
Mitigation program, led by the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, for enhanced situational
awareness. The sensors and tools that make up this
program will set the foundation for zero-trust architecture
to further fortify cybersecurity controls.
2024–2028 STRATEGIC PLAN – 19
A storied past, an even brighter future
BPA will celebrate its 90
th
anniversary before we conclude this strategic
cycle. Through the decades, we have reimagined clean energy and the
power grid time and again — often in the face of uncertainty and always
in collaboration with our regional partners. The lessons we’ve learned
along the way have prepared us for the journey we’re embarking on today.
In many ways, this strategic plan is reminiscent of BPA’s most
historic triumphs. As we seek innovative transmission solutions
to meet our customers’ needs, we are reminded of BPA’s
breakthrough in direct current technology and the construction
of the nation’s rst and longest high-voltage DC intertie. This
advancement in the transfer of electricity across two regions
serves as an early example of regional cooperation, demonstra-
ting the value of sharing diverse power resources over a larger
footprint.
As we support regional decarbonization, we are reminded of
our decades-long commitment to environmental stewardship,
including our trailblazing work in energy efciency. With no
blueprint to follow, BPA and its utility customers proved that
simply saving power for others to use is the cleanest and most
cost-effective new power resource.
And as we seek to integrate more renewable generation, we
are reminded of BPA’s role in connecting one of the world’s rst
wind farms and later designing cutting-edge solutions for the
large-scale integration of variable resources. These advance-
ments enabled a surge in wind energy development and
cleared the way for future carbon-free resource development in
the Pacic Northwest.
This kind of inventive, forward thinking is in our DNA. And now
we have set our sights on yet another energy transformation.
Leveraging our prior achievements, BPA will remain
a leader in clean energy, adapt to new demands and
help our customers and the region thrive in this era
of change.
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TRANSMISSION
CUSTOMERS
POWER
CUSTOMERS
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
P.O. Box 3621 Portland, Oregon 97208-3621
DOE/BP-5255 • August 2023
www.bpa.gov