John Hairston

episode of People in

Power, recorded September 23rd, 2026, Clearing Up editor Steve Ernst and I talk with Travis Kavula, the new CEO and administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, who was sworn in in June.

BPA is a federal power marketing agency that sells electricity from 31 federal hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest and the Northwest's only operating commercial nuclear power plant, the Columbia Generating Station.

BPA also operates and maintains about 15,000 circuit miles of high-voltage transmission lines that carry electricity from a variety of resources across the Northwest and connect to transmission in other parts of the West.

BPA's Fish and Wildlife Program, which works to mitigate the effects of federal dams on fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin, is one of the largest environmental programs in the country, with $319 million in program expenses in 2025.

BPA, under its previous administrator, John Hairston, supported the development of the Southwest Power Pools Markets Plus, but Kavula has made clear that BPA's choice of a regional day-ahead market is not yet settled.

On September 3rd, he sent a letter to the Regional Organization for Western Energy, or ROE, the organization expected to take over governance of the California Independent System Operator's regional markets.

In the letter, Kavula outlined principles on governance, market design, and seams that BPA expects to be resolved before it commits its infrastructure to any day-ahead market.