U.S. News

The employees taking the buyout include linemen, engineers, substation operators and power dispatchers — positions that take years of apprenticeship to learn.

“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.”

Losing a large chunk of its highly trained workforce will hinder the agency’s ability to perform core functions, the BPA staff members said. Those functions include distributing hydropower from 31 federal dams and operating 75% of the Northwest’s power grid, ensuring reliable electricity for millions in the Northwest.

BPA officials did not respond to emailed questions about how the reduction in its workforce would affect efforts to strengthen the grid and provide affordable and reliable energy, how many transmission-related employees were leaving the agency, or whether ongoing transmission upgrades would be slowed because of the loss of staff.

The BPA employees OPB spoke to said it would be unlikely the agency could strengthen and expand the grid as promised.“No way, we’ll be in damage control and literally trying to keep the lights on,” one transmission employee said. While employees are already dealing with limited resources and increasingly extreme weather, wildfires and rapid increases in electricity demand, this person said, “Having one hand tied behind our back means putting the communities we serve at risk.”