BPA in works to take over local switchyards 

The Bonneville Power Administration is in negotiations to take over three switchyards in the Grand Coulee area. 

“The Bonneville Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation are negotiating the transfer of ownership, operations and maintenance of three Grand Coulee switchyards and the associated switch gear from Reclamation to BPA,” reads a joint statement from the two agencies in response to a Star inquiry.

 “The agencies have drafted multiple Memoranda of Understanding that will facilitate the transfer,” the statement continues. “It is important to note, negotiations are ongoing and no final decision on which assets and when the transfer would occur has been made.”

The statement was sent by BPA spokesperson Doug Johnson and USBR Public Affairs Specialist Erika Lopez via email on Monday.

BPA employee Darryl Hackworth, while speaking mostly on another topic at Grand Coulee’s Oct. 18 city council meeting during their public comment period, had mentioned the BPA taking over switchyards in the Grand Coulee Dam area from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 

Benefits of the potential transfer include that “it would allow each agency to focus on its core responsibilities,” the joint statement reads. “Reclamation could provide added focus on water for irrigation, hydroelectric power production, flood control, fish and wildlife conservation, and recreation. BPA could apply its decades of asset management and transmission operations to the equipment in the switchyards.”

The MOUs are anticipated to be signed in the spring of 2023, but finalization and signing of those documents could take longer, the statement explains.

The transfer of the switchyards to the BPA would not affect USBR’s ownership, operation and maintenance of the dam and power plants.

Once BPA took over the switchyards, “future activities would include a BPA plan to modernize the assets and add 12 staff to maintain and support the equipment,” the statement says. “Completing these activities would be a multi-year effort.”

Lopez later stated that Reclamation staffing numbers are anticipated to remain the same.

“They will maintain a switchyard crew, and some employees may transfer to the power plants,” she said.

“BPA and Reclamation have been exploring this for some time,” a subsequent followup statement reads. “As fiscal stewards of Northwest ratepayer and American taxpayer dollars, BPA and Reclamation continually seek efficiencies in the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. Transfer of the switchyard allows BPA and Reclamation to fulfill their respective missions of transmission and power generation in a fiscally sound manner. This is a great example of the many ways we work together for the benefit of Pacific Northwest citizens.”