Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the Reliability to Ratepayers Act to address hiring and retention issues at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). This bill directs the BPA to develop a comprehensive compensation plan for all employees by allowing the administrator to review and update compensation plans without regard to civil service laws.
“Ensuring reliable and affordable energy for our communities requires a strong and capable workforce at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA),” said Rep. Newhouse.
Newhouse continues, “This bill provides BPA with the flexibility to offer competitive compensation, address hiring and retention challenges, and tackle the backlog of critical projects that impact families and businesses across the Pacific Northwest. By updating BPA’s compensation structure to match industry standards, we can ensure the agency is well-positioned to deliver the reliability ratepayers deserve while strengthening our region’s energy future.”
“When I go out and speak with skilled workers across our communities, I see a lot of gray hair. To continue to recruit and retain folks in essential public energy jobs, we’ve got to honor their hard work through appropriate compensation,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez.
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez continues, “By introducing the Reliability for Ratepayers Act with Congressman Newhouse, we’ll be able to address the critical workforce shortages in our federal power system and begin addressing long-overdue projects that can help keep rates down for Southwest Washington families.”
“The mission of the Public Power Council is to preserve and enhance the benefits of the Federal Columbia River Power System marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for both consumer-owned utilities and the communities they serve. In recent years, the ability of BPA to recruit and retain talented employees has become increasingly more difficult given that BPA salaries are not commensurate with similar positions throughout the region. The legislation introduced today by Reps. Glusenkamp Perez and Newhouse goes a long way toward encouraging a competitive and talented workforce for the betterment of the region. PPC applauds bipartisan work and the continued commitment of ensuring reliable, affordable power for the Northwest.” – Scott Simms, CEO & Executive Director of the Public Power Council.
“Providing BPA with the authority to competitively compensate its staff is one of the single most important changes Congress can make to improve the power sector in the Northwest, particularly for creating the transmission system that the region needs,” said Spencer Gray, Executive Director of the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition. “Independent power producers and marketers deeply appreciate the bipartisan leadership in both chambers to enact this reform. Renewable Northwest believes supporting our region’s largest owner of electricity transmission to hire and retain a well trained workforce is a top priority for supporting our goals of electricity system decarbonization.” – Nicole Hughes, Executive Director of Renewable Northwest.
Full bill text can be found here.
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