News
October 2025 Newsletter
Our October newsletter is here! The newest issue of The Energy Activist includes: Read it here.
Energy Advocates Retreat
In September, we held our first-ever Energy Advocates retreat in Portland, in partnership with GEI, Citizens Utility Board, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries Association, Multnomah County, Verde, Clackamas Community College, and Climate Solutions. The idea for the retreat followed the 2025 Oregon legislative session and the huge wave of implementation that’s now moving to the…
Press Release: California amends law to join its neighbors in a large Western-based energy market
The new structure for oversight of the market addresses the Bonneville Power Administration’s primary concern when it chose to join a smaller energy market Sept. 12, 2025 NW Energy Coalition applauds the passage of California Assembly Bill 825, which enables the transfer of oversight of a large Western-based energy market to a new, independent organization…
August 2025 Newsletter
Our August newsletter is here! The latest edition of The Energy Activist includes: Read it here.
Op-ed: BPA needs to think about costs, customers
In Montana and across the Northwest, energy demand is climbing. Add to that increasingly severe weather events, and you have a recipe for high costs and insufficient energy and transmission during peak demand. To address this, our region needs more access to reliable, affordable and renewable energy for decades to come. One way to do…
NWEC Statement on BPA’s Day-Ahead Market Policy Final Decision
NWEC is disappointed that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is choosing to join Markets+, a project developed by the Arkansas based Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and with a more limited portfolio of clean energy resources. NWEC agrees with BPA that joining a day-ahead energy market is the correct strategy to achieve our shared goals…
Webinar: Wildfire and Utilities
This webinar covered the intersection between wildfire and utilities, policymakers, and communities. Increased fire risk is threatening communities as utilities work to mitigate risk and policymakers are deciding how to regulate them. We explored this intersection, and the role advocates can play in the development of utility regulations, legislation, and wildfire mitigation plans that will…
Statement: BPA draft decision on Western power market could bring higher costs for Northwest energy consumers
NW Energy Coalition March 6, 2025 Contact: Jill Wasberg, 206-790-8151, jill@nwenergy.org Fred Heutte, 503-757-6222, fred@nwenergy.org Bonneville Power Administration’s own analysis and many other studies commissioned by regional utilities and public interest groups show this choice is likely to result in higher power costs, less reliability, and more difficulty integrating clean energy. Because BPA provides a large majority of…
Feb. 2025 Newsletter – Save the date for our spring conference, updates from NW Energy Coalition
Spring 2025 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference: Missoula, May 7 Join the NW Energy Coalition this spring in Missoula for our Clean & Affordable Energy Conference! We’ll have three panel discussions throughout the day featuring dialogue from experts in Montana on moving a clean energy transition forward. Panelists will talk about how Tribal communities are…
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Issues Puget Sound Energy Risk-Sharing Order for Natural Gas Climate Commitment Act: Impact and Implications
By Will Gehrke, Senior Technical Analyst, NW Energy Coalition NWEC, Climate Solutions, and Washington Conservation Action, represented by Earthjustice, intervened in a UTC proceeding to propose a risk-sharing mechanism for Puget Sound Energy’s costs of complying with the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The UTC issued a Final Order on Friday, February 21, 2025. Background: The Climate…