Making Every Kilowatt Count

As electricity needs grow across the Pacific Northwest, we'll need more power and more infrastructure. But adding new resources isn't the only part of preparing for the future. There's also value in getting as much useful work as possible from the electricity we already have.

That's where energy conservation comes in.

In the electric utility world, conservation isn't necessarily about doing less. It's about using fewer kilowatt-hours to accomplish the same job.

That can happen almost anywhere electricity is used. Businesses and industries can operate equipment more efficiently. Farms can reduce the electricity needed to pump water. Homes can use more efficient heating and water-heating equipment. Utilities can even reduce the amount of electricity lost while moving power across the grid.

Added together, those savings can be enormous.

Since 1982, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), its customer utilities like Central Lincoln, and regional partners have achieved energy savings equivalent to enough electricity to power approximately 1.9 million homes. BPA estimates those savings have also resulted in roughly $2.2 billion in reduced electricity bills across the region.

Right here at home

Two projects highlighted in BPA's 2025 Energy Conservation Annual Review show just how different conservation can look.

At Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence, replacing an older heating and cooling system with more efficient equipment is expected to save 105,334 kilowatt-hours each year while also reducing maintenance costs.

Central Lincoln's new 69-kilovolt transmission line serving Newport saves energy in an entirely different way. Electricity is lost as heat as it travels through power lines. By providing another path for electricity to travel, the new line reduces those losses. BPA estimates the project will save approximately 118,000 kilowatt-hours while also making the system more resilient during periods of high demand or when other equipment is out of service.

Conservation won't replace the need for new power or infrastructure. But it does help make the electricity we have today go further. Every kilowatt-hour we don't need to accomplish the same job is a kilowatt-hour that doesn't have to be generated and delivered for that purpose.

As our region's electricity needs grow, we'll need both: new resources for tomorrow and continued efforts to make the most of what we have today.