The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a US self-financed federal agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon which transmits and sells wholesale electricity to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. A part of the U.S. Department of Energy, the BPA was created in 1937 to provide the hydroelectricity generated from Bonneville Dam and, later, Grand Coulee Dam; as of 2004, it still provides about half the electricity used in the region. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ... A federal government is the common government of a federation. ... Portland skyline. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... State nickname: Gem State Other U.S. States Capital Boise Largest city Boise Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R) Official languages none Area 216,632 km² (14th)  - Land 214,499 km²  - Water 2,133 km² (0. ... State nickname: Treasure State Other U.S. States Capital Helena Largest city Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) Official languages English Area 381,156 km² (4th)  - Land 377,295 km²  - Water 3,862 km² (1%) Population (2000)  - Population 902,195 (44th)  - Density 2. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is a form of hydropower, (i. ... Bonneville Lock and Dam is several dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the US states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146. ... Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington State, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The BPA now markets the electricity from thirty-one hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and her tributaries, as well as the Columbia Generating Station located on the Hanford Site. It has more than 15,000 miles of electrical lines and 300 substations in the Pacific Northwest and controls approximately 75 percent of the transmission lines in the region. The BPA also maintains connection lines with other power grids in Canada and the southwestern United States. Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River (Listed in order from the headwaters, to the Pacific Ocean) See also: Columbia River Categories: Lists of dams ... Hanford Site during the Manhattan Project. ... Darker red states are always part of the Pacific Northwest. ... Transmission towers Transmission lines in Lund, Sweden Electric power transmission, or more accurately Electrical energy transmission, is the second process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. ... The Southwestern Unites States or simply the Southwest is a region of the United States that is drier in weather than the adjoining Southern United States and U.S. West; the population is less dense and, with moderate Mexican and American Indian components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. ...

The power generated on the BPA's grid is sold to public utilities, private utilities, and industry on the grid. The excess is sold to other grids in Canada, California and other regions. Because they are a public entity, they do not make a profit on the power sold or from providing transmission services. They also coordinate with the Corps to regulate flow of water in the Columbia River and take on environmental projects such as salmon replenishment. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow up to 58 long and 126 pounds. ...

Currently, the BPA is taking part in a process to create an organization that would oversee the operations of the entire Northwest electric-transmission grid system. The plan, called Grid West, would create a so-called Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). The move to create an RTO was at the behest of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which required all regions of the United States to establish an RTO, an Independant System Operator (ISO) in an effort to establish Standard Market Design (SMD) structure. When Pat Wood III stepped down as Chairman of FERC, the new Chairman, Joseph Kelliher pronounced the end of SMD efforts though RTOs are alive and well. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): The U.S. federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates. ...

Grid West is a contentious issue in the Northwest where there are many publically owned utilities, most of which are against the concept because they feel that it will limit their market independance from what many see as an overbearing government agency (I.E.: FERC). The BPA, on the other hand, is in mostly in favor of the concept largely because they are currently forced to pay for the majority of transmission upgrades by incurring debt. In contrast, private transmission owners such as Avista Corp. and Puget Sound Energy (both Investor Owned Utilities) are not required to do the same, even though the region is faced with a severe shortage of transmission capacity.

The BPA says that it is open to the idea that Grid West may not be the best method to fixing the region's transmission issues and is examining alternatives including fixing transmission issues on its own.

See also

• Tennessee Valley Authority

External link

• Official website