Oregon U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are urging President Donald Trump to reconsider a dramatic reduction in the workforce at the Bonneville Power Administration.
The Democrats sent a letter to the President on Friday afternoon citing OPB’s reporting that BPA could lose nearly 20% of its staff because of buyouts, a hiring freeze and the termination of probationary employees coming as part of Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government.
FILE – The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Troutdale substation, right, and transmission towers, in Troutdale, March 6, 2023. Oregon U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urge Trump to reconsider BPA staff cuts, citing OPB’s report on workforce reductions due to federal downsizing efforts.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
“These cuts are not only reckless but also financially ludicrous,” the senators wrote.
BPA, a self-funded division of the Department of Energy, owns 75% of the region’s electrical grid. That transmission infrastructure ensures power flows to homes and businesses across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana.
“We do not believe there is an energy emergency,” the letter states, “but your actions certainly appear to be creating one through these cuts that actively jeopardize the stability of our energy infrastructure, right now.”
The senators’ letter says that losing experienced linemen, engineers and dispatchers “poses a direct and immediate threat to the reliability of the electrical grid that serves millions of American families and businesses in the Pacific Northwest.”
Related: Bonneville Power staff departures under President Trump raise concerns about Northwest electrical grid
The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Energy experts balked at the proposed cuts this week given BPA’s self-sufficiency as an agency and the Northwest’s growing demand for electricity and infrastructure to support both residents and a booming data center industry.
“I can’t overemphasize the fact that this is a serious, serious, operational problem,” Randall Hardy, an energy consultant and former administrator of BPA, said about the staff losses. “The reliability impacts of this could be very serious. I mean the lights go out. Unplanned outages.”
Some estimates show the Pacific Northwest could need as much as 30% more electricity over the next decade to meet demand.
Employees of BPA who spoke to OPB this week worried about long term effects of staff cuts. The employees taking the buyout include linemen, engineers, substation operators and power dispatchers — positions that take years of apprenticeship to learn.
