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Economic and dam related articles

Dams, Power Lines and Statistics:
What the Bonneville Power Administration Is and Does

by Courtney Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting, February 21, 2025

Sean Milligan of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District sends hot pink dye through the spill bay of the Little Goose Dam model in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Bonneville Power Administration was born out of the New Deal, an era of large-scale public works projects that created infrastructure and jobs as the U.S. recovered from the Great Depression. It started to market electricity from the Bonneville and Grand Coulee hydroelectric dams in the 1930s and '40s. Today, a third of all power consumed in the Pacific Northwest comes from BPA, which owns 75% of the region's electrical transmission lines.

Eighty-eight years after its creation by an act of Congress, Bonneville Power is widely viewed as both an engine of prosperity in the Northwest, and - at times - an obstacle to environmental goals and economic growth.

Here's a snapshot of the federally-owned, self-funded agency, what it does and how it got here.

Bonneville Power Administration today

Historic highlights A future of opportunities and obstacles


Courtney Sherwood
Dams, Power Lines and Statistics: What the Bonneville Power Administration Is and Does
Oregon Public Broadcasting, February 21, 2025

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