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Members of Congress from Northwest Tell Feds BPA Must Remain Independent by Staff Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, November 11, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Every lawmaker representing Oregon, Washington and Idaho urged the U.S. Energy Department to maintain an independent Bonneville Power Administration that puts Northwest power users first, in a bipartisan letter sent to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Nov. 8.

Led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., the 23 members emphasized the importance of correcting discrimination against hiring veterans that occurred at BPA. But that discrimination cannot become an excuse for DOE to take control over Northwest energy policy, they said.

"BPA decisions must be made in the Northwest for the benefit of the Northwest. While DOE deserves credit for uncovering BPA's violation of veterans' preference and other federal hiring rules, on many BPA matters DOE simply has neither the expertise nor the resources to effectively manage the day-to-day operations," the members wrote.

The delegation asked Moniz to publicly state that the recent decision by DOE to impose new oversight of Bonneville's legal and hiring decisions will not become a Trojan horse to dictate policy decisions from Washington, D.C.

"We respectfully request that you and Deputy Secretary Poneman clarify that it is not your intent to extend DOE headquarters day-to-day oversight of BPA beyond that necessary to remedy the acknowledged failures of the BPA personnel system," they wrote.

The members formally asked the Energy Department to provide monthly reports to the Northwest congressional delegation about its oversight of BPA, as long as the increased DOE oversight is in place. They also asked DOE to provide an end date for the oversight process.

The members asked Moniz to explain how it will address veteran hiring discrimination cases, as well as how long it will take to resolve the illegal hiring practices.

The Bonneville Power Administration controls 65 percent of the region's power generating capacity (an average of 10.7 gigawatts), and half of the baseload power. It controls about 15,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, which is nearly 80 percent of the regional total. It generates clean, renewable power in the Northwest, creating a strategic advantage for the region.