Bonneville Power Administration
Agency overview | |
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Formed | August 20, 1937 |
Jurisdiction | U.S. government |
Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Agency executive |
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Parent agency | U.S. Department of Energy |
Website | www |
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power. Congress has since designated Bonneville to be the marketing agent for power from all of the federally owned hydroelectric projects in the Pacific Northwest. Bonneville is one of four regional Federal power marketing agencies within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Operations
The power generated on BPA's grid is sold to public utilities, private utilities, and industry on the grid. The excess is sold to other grids in
Although BPA is part of the DOE, it is self-funded and covers its costs by selling its products and services at cost. The BPA provides about 28% of the electricity used in the region. BPA transmits and sells wholesale electricity in eight western states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California.[1]
BPA now markets the electricity from thirty-one federal
BPA also maintains connection lines with other
The Northern Intertie crosses the Canada–US border in two locations at
Because BPA owns and operates transmission equipment and locations, its workers perform its own
BPA uses helicopters to sling load maintenance workers inspecting and repairing power lines.[4]
History
BPA's first industrial sale was to Alcoa in January 1940, to provide 32,500 kilowatts of power.[5] This, and the following 162,500 kilowatt order, led to complaints of the Bonneville Power Act's anti-monopoly clause.[5] The cheap price of aluminum from Alcoa helped aluminum sales grow in the post-World War II market.[5]
Overly optimistic estimates of future electricity consumption by BPA in the 1960s led the agency to guarantee some bonds for the disastrous
In 1973, Bill Gates and Paul Allen were hired by Bob Barnett to write software for the PDP-10 computer that managed BPA's power grid and remained in operation until 2013.[7]
In 2014, the BPA Library discovered a collection of old films made by the agency and began posting digital versions of them on the agency's website.[8] Included in the collection is the award-winning documentary "River of Power" which covers the Agency's history from its beginning to the present.[9]
The BPA gives its name to the BPA Trail in Federal Way, Washington, a walking trail built beneath the power transmission lines.
Administrators
Administrator[a] | Dates[b] |
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James D. (J. D.) Ross[c] | Oct. 10, 1937 – March 14, 1939 |
Charles Carey | Feb. 2 – May 4, 1939 (acting)[d] |
Frank Banks | May 4 – Sept. 15, 1939 (interim / acting) |
Paul J. Raver[e] | Sept. 16, 1939 – Jan. 14, 1954 |
William A. Pearl | Jan. 15, 1954 – Feb. 14, 1961 |
Charles F. Luce | Feb. 15, 1961 – Aug. 30, 1966 |
David S. Black | Aug. 31, 1966 – Sept. 7, 1967 |
H.R. Richmond | Sept. 8, 1967 – Oct. 19, 1967 (acting) |
Donald P. Hodel | Dec. 1, 1972 – Dec. 19, 1977 |
S. Sterling Munro, Jr.
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Jan. 1978 – Feb. 1981 |
Earl Gjelde | Feb. – May 1981 (acting) |
Peter T. Johnson | May 1981 – July 1986 |
James J. Jura | July 1986 – Aug. 1991 |
Jack Robertson | Aug. – Oct. 1991 (acting) |
Randall W. Hardy | Oct. 1991 – Sept. 1997 |
Jack Robertson | Oct. 1997 – June 1998 (acting) |
Judith A. Johansen | June 1998 – Sept. 2000 |
Stephen J. Wright | Sept. 2000 – Feb. 2002 (acting) March 2002 – Feb. 2013 |
William K. Drummond | Jan. 2013 – Jan. 2014 |
Elliot Mainzer | July 2013 – Jan. 2014 (acting) Jan. 2014 – Sept. 2020 |
John L. Hairston | Sept 2020 - Mar. 2021 (acting) Mar. 2021 - (present) |
Notes
- ^ The position title varied in the early years as shown in the reference; since William Pearl, the title has consistently been 'Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration'.
- ^ The start date shown is the earliest date when the person was named to the position or when showed up for the job. The "effective" appointment date wasn't always precise but was always after the date of announcement, and sometimes before and sometimes after the date the individual actually began work on the job. Likewise, the swearing-in date was sometimes before and sometimes after the start of actual work in the position.
- ^ Power administrator of the Bonneville Project
- ^ During Ross' illness and after his death
- ^ Administrator, Bonneville Power Project, later Bonneville Power Administration
See also
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Power Marketing Administration
- Western Interconnection
- BPA Trail, Federal Way
References
- ^ a b "BPA Facts 2016" (PDF). Bonneville Power Administration. March 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- ^ "BPA to automate transmission curtailment procedure for the Puget Sound Area" (PDF). September 2007.
- U.S. Forest Service(FS). Retrieved 2022-07-16.
- ^ Head, Elan. "On The Line: Training with BPA and Priority 1 Air Rescue" Vertical, 28 October 2014. Accessed: 30 October 2014.
- ^ ISBN 0-9603408-1-5.
- ^ Northwest Council: "BPA History" www.nwcouncil.org, accessed 16 November 2019
- ^ "Legacy computer system retires after keeping the lights on for 38 years". Bonneville Power Administration. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ Film-Vault www.bpa.gov, accessed 16 November 2019
- ^ River of Power (1987) film www.bpa.gov/news, accessed 16 November 2019
- ^ "Administrators of BPA". Bonneville Power Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
Archives
- Charles F. Luce papers. 1654–2000. 6.13 cubic feet.
- Brock Adams papers. 1947–1993. 326.64 cubic feet (456 boxes).
- George H. Barker Collection of Dam Construction Photographs and Ephemera. 1935-1952. 243 photographic prints, 18 newspaper clippings (1 box).
External links
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Bonneville Power Administration in the Federal Register
- Historic American Engineering Record(HAER) documentation:
- HAER No. ID-22, "Bonneville Power Administration Burley Substation, 1221 Albion Avenue, Burley, Cassia County, ID", 13 photos, 19 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
- HAER No. OR-4, "Bonneville Power Administration South Bank Substation, I-84, South of Bonneville Dam Powerhouse, Bonneville, Multnomah County, OR", 20 photos, 9 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
- HAER No. WA-188, "Pasco-Kennewick Transmission Line, Columbia River Crossing Towers, Columbia Drive and Gum Street, Kennewick, Benton County, WA", 6 photos, 14 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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