Settlement requires Bonneville Power Administration to reduce proposed rate hike that unfairly targets salmon protection

Seattle, WA —

Conservation and clean energy groups, represented by Earthjustice, agreed to settle their challenge to a proposed rate hike by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The settlement will reduce the financial burden on BPA’s customers by close to $40 million.

BPA is the federal agency that sells Columbia Basin hydropower and operates much of the Northwest’s power grid.

Initially, BPA had proposed raising an additional $250 million through its rate hike, which could have resulted in an increase to customers’ bills of up to 6.3%. Instead, as a consequence of the settlement, BPA will collect a total of $212 million. The settlement also increases the likelihood that that BPA will refund money to its customers in 2028.

In its stated justification for the rate increase, BPA blamed measures put in place by a federal court in Oregon found to be necessary to protect imperiled Columbia Basin salmon. The Idaho Conservation League, Sierra Club, and the NW Energy Coalition, represented by Earthjustice, intervened in BPA’s rate proceeding, arguing the agency was prematurely seeking the increase and exaggerating the cost of implementing the court order, ignoring other factors, such as weather, energy demand, and regional prices, that influence both BPA’s expenses and revenues. That happened before in 2018, when BPA claimed that it needed to immediately raise rates because of a similar court order and yet still managed to end the year with a $123 million surplus.

The groups also argued that the agency could, if it chose to do so, avoid a rate hike by absorbing any costs that may arise from the order. According to BPA’s own forecasts, its financial position is secure, and BPA appears capable of responding to additional costs without raising customer rates while blaming salmon for doing so.

“BPA is required to make decisions that are economically sound while also protecting endangered salmon and steelhead,” said Earthjustice Attorney Michael Mayer. “This settlement is a win for electricity customers, but at the same time, BPA still insists on raising rates. BPA’s approach here is faulty, and there are better alternatives.”

“BPA is fully capable of maintaining our grid and promoting cheaper, cleaner energy options without compromising on salmon protections. We intend to work with BPA to make sure that happens,” said Bill Arthur, chair of the Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign at the Sierra Club.

“Energy affordability is top of mind for everyone. We are pleased to keep $40 million in people’s pockets through this settlement. We know that BPA can do better and will keep pushing for solutions that protect both people and salmon in the Northwest,” said Ben Otto, policy director at the NW Energy Coalition.

“This settlement provides some relief to consumers at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills. We will keep fighting for consumers while making sure that salmon are not ignored,” said Brad Smith, conservation director at the Idaho Conservation League.

Background

The settlement must still be officially adopted by BPA, but BPA intends to finalize its decision no later than early December. 

This rate proceeding follows other recent rate increases. BPA previously raised its rates by close to 9% when setting rates for fiscal years 2026 through 2028, and at the end of 2025, it imposed a $40 million surcharge on its customers, effectively raising rates by another 2%.

The court’s order at the center of this rate case came about after the clean energy, conservation, and fishing groups, represented by Earthjustice, returned to federal court in Oregon last fall in response to the Trump administration unilaterally terminating the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement. Signed in 2023, the agreement was intended to pause the parties’ long-standing litigation for a decade while a set of federal commitments were implemented to restore salmon populations, honor Tribal treaty obligations, and build out the region’s clean energy resources.

The court ordered more water to be “spilled” over eight dams on the Lower Columbia and Lower Snake rivers to protect juvenile salmon migrating downstream. The order is a temporary emergency measure, needed because of the government’s repeated failure to adequately protect salmon. As noted by the court, the responsible agencies have a “disappointing history of government avoidance and manipulation instead of sincere efforts at solving the problem and genuinely remediating the harm.”

Separately, research has confirmed the main pressures that are driving electricity rates nationwide. A report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Brattle Group cited top five factors causing electricity rate increases between 2019 and 2024. The reasons for rising costs noted in the report include overdue updates and repairs to the power and transmission system and supply chain problems; extreme weather and wildfire mitigation; methane gas price volatility; rising electricity demand due in part to data centers, and costs to integrate new industrial wind and solar projects into an outdated grid.