Updated

Updated · eenews.net · Jun 23

Trump Administration Appoints Travis Kavulla to Lead BPA, Which Supplies About 33% of Northwest Power

Updated

Updated · eenews.net · Jun 23

Trump Administration Appoints Travis Kavulla to Lead BPA, Which Supplies About 33% of Northwest Power

Q: Will the BPA's new market strategy save consumers money or cost them billions in excess electricity fees?

It is more likely to cost consumers more, and critics say the added cost could reach billions, though that outcome is still contested and not yet final. The immediate issue is BPA’s decision to leave the Western Energy Imbalance Market path and pursue Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ day-ahead market instead of CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market. Environmental groups, consumer advocates and some regional stakeholders argue BPA’s own analysis shows that choice could impose billions in excess electricity costs over time. They also point to a Brattle Group finding that EDAM would have produced the largest savings for BPA’s balancing area, estimated at more than $65 million a year. That does not mean the higher-cost outcome is certain. BPA chose Markets+ partly to preserve greater control over its federal hydro system and market design, and supporters of that approach argue it could better protect reliability and operational flexibility in the long run. Those benefits matter in a region facing rapid load growth, especially from data centers, and a widening resource adequacy gap. Still, based on the evidence now in public debate, the financial case has tilted against BPA’s current market strategy rather than in its favor. That is why Travis Kavulla’s appointment matters: he inherits a decision that many regional groups want revisited. If he keeps BPA on the current Markets+ track, he will face pressure to prove it will not saddle Northwest customers with avoidable power costs.

3 articles · Updated · eenews.net · Jun 23

Travis Kavulla will take over the Bonneville Power Administration, putting the former Montana utility regulator in charge of the Oregon-based agency at a turbulent moment for electricity markets.
About one-third of the Pacific Northwest’s power flows through BPA, whose system is anchored by a large fleet of hydroelectric dams and a major federal power-marketing role.
Kavulla joins from Texas home-battery company Base Power, where he served as head of policy after building a profile as an advocate of competitive electricity markets and market-based grid solutions.
The Energy Department said the appointment is meant to support BPA’s push to expand and modernize infrastructure while maintaining regional grid reliability; he is set to be sworn in June 29 in Portland.