Energy and Conservation Groups File Legal Challenge to Bonneville Power Administration’s Energy Market Decision

Five Northwest energy and conservation groups filed a lawsuit today asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a decision by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) that would affect the transmission and cost of electric power across the entire Pacific Northwest.

The groups filing the lawsuit say BPA’s decision this past May to join Markets+, an energy trading market, will drive up energy bills for customers, weaken energy grid reliability and reduce access to clean energy. This runs counter to BPA’s obligations under the Northwest Power Act to ensure cost effective and reliable power for the Northwest and to also protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the Columbia Basin hydrosystem. Further, in taking this action, BPA failed to consider the foreseeable environmental impacts of its decision as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). These impacts should have been studied before BPA made its market choice.

Advocates highlighted how BPA’s own analysis showed choosing Markets+ was more expensive for consumers and would drive up costs in the entire Pacific Northwest. An analysis prepared by state agencies in Washington and Oregon using BPA’s data found that joining Markets+ would mean foregoing $4.4 billion in accrued savings on power costs. BPA decided against joining the Extended-Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), a larger Western market — which its own studies showed would save customers and the agency millions of dollars on an annual basis, would advance energy reliability, and would provide greater access to clean energy sources within and near the eight Western states where BPA sells and transmits electricity if it joined EDAM. Advocates say the decision to forego cost savings for the region, and instead choosing a market that will drive up costs for the entire region, was arbitrary, and therefore illegal.

Petitioners in this case, represented by Earthjustice, are NW Energy Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Montana Environmental Information Center, Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board and the Sierra Club.

Statements from Earthjustice and our clients

“BPA is making a decision with profound impacts on all utility customers in the Northwest for decades to come and appears to have made its decision on factors that will not meet its obligation to provide affordable energy to customers, promote renewable energy, and protect cultural, fish, and wildlife resources,” said Nancy Hirsh, executive director of the NW Energy Coalition. “The ripple effects of this decision could hamstring our region for years to come if nothing is done. Given the stakes for the region, we need the Court to hold BPA accountable to its legal duties under the Northwest Power Act and NEPA.”

“BPA doesn’t get carte blanche to sell power outside the Northwest and further compromise salmon and steelhead,” said Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Energy Strategist for the Idaho Conservation League. “Joining an energy market without analyzing the environmental impacts of doing so is illegal. Instead of leveraging energy markets to bring clean energy into the region and help both salmon and ratepayers, BPA’s shortsighted decision will increase power costs and harm endangered, iconic fish.”

“Energy prices have already skyrocketed across the Northwest over the past few years. People are struggling,” said Bob Jenks, Executive Director of Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board. “BPA benefits immensely from the power generated in our region, but its responsibilities to Northwest utility customers rise above what works best for BPA. It must ensure the people in our region aren’t financially harmed by this hasty decision.”

“The decision by BPA to join Markets+ is bad for Northwest ratepayers, our clean energy future, and our environment,” said Robin Everett Deputy Director, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. “BPA is ignoring its legal responsibilities to deliver least cost resources to ratepayers and protect our endangered salmon and steelhead. These neglected priorities must be addressed.”

“Studies show that BPA joining Markets+ will result in higher costs, decreased reliability, increased risk of blackouts during extreme weather and more greenhouse gas emissions. This is a terrible decision for Montanans who already pay more in energy costs than most other states in the nation,” said Anne Hedges, Executive Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC). “BPA serves 300,000 square miles across eight states including Montana. BPA’s decisions will have severe economic and environmental consequences across the region. We deserve a decision that considers the people who have to pay the bills and that doesn’t cause negative environmental consequences.”

“Bonneville’s decision on markets will affect the transmission and generation of electric power across the West and is exactly the type of major federal action that should first consider the harms it could cause to our air quality, grid system reliability, fish and wildlife, etc. This is exactly why Congress enacted NEPA — to examine the consequences before acting. Here, however, the agency has completely ignored its obligations under federal law,” said Jaimini Parekh, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice.

Background

Regional energy markets allow utilities and energy authorities like BPA to buy and sell electricity across a wider area, which can help lower costs for consumers, provide more access to renewable energy sources and ensure a stable and reliable energy supply. Choosing an energy market is a big decision for any utility — and for a large power broker like BPA, the effects of choosing the wrong energy market can cascade through dozens of utilities and across multiple states.

Many others in the region, including Oregon and Washington’s four Senators, have expressed strong concerns over BPA’s rushed decision to join Markets+ instead of further studying the issue. In a May 2025 letter to BPA the Senators wrote, “This decision will likely have profound and lasting impacts on the reliability, affordability, and greenhouse gas emissions of electricity used throughout the Pacific Northwest… Between increasing energy demand, increasing strain on ratepayers, and significant resource adequacy constraints in the Northwest, it is paramount that BPA continue to operate according to sound business principles, as required by statute. That includes ensuring there is the opportunity to consider the full range of market structure options before making a long-term commitment on electricity markets.”