Refreshed strategic plan sharpens BPA’s focus on accelerated grid expansion and ratepayer protection

Refreshed strategic plan sharpens BPA's focus on accelerated grid expansion and ratepayer protection

August 31, 2026

The Bonneville Power Administration published a refreshed strategic plan that aims to accelerate innovative transmission and power supply solutions to meet growing demand while protecting legacy customers from the cost of rapid expansion.

The 2026-2030 Strategic Plan places a stronger emphasis on rapid grid expansion to ensure regional energy security, reliability and affordability. To support this expansion, BPA remains committed to regional collaboration in the advancement of energy markets and ensuring resource adequacy. Crucially, BPA will protect legacy public power customers and ratepayers by leveraging innovative financial structures and policy frameworks that ensure growth pays for growth.

BPA updated its strategy as part of an effort led by the Office of the Under Secretary of Energy to strengthen strategic alignment across its departments and draw connections to DOE and national priorities. The updated plan builds on BPA's previous strategy and reflects the vision of BPA's newly appointed administrator, Travis Kavulla.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to bring bold ideas forward to help accelerate and expand energy production," said Kavulla, who was sworn in June 29. "BPA has already taken considerable steps to grow the grid in a timely, strategic manner - my vision is to be bolder still. By prioritizing grid expansion, driving operational productivity and employing sound business principles, this strategy ensures we scale our infrastructure efficiently while safeguarding our legacy customers."

Those priorities are captured under three updated strategic goals:

• Grow the grid: Maximize the value of the federal system by deploying innovative transmission and power supply solutions that ensure grid reliability while adapting to evolving customer needs. This goal, formerly "Enhance the value of products and services," includes modernizing grid access and transmission expansion processes, as well as advancing energy markets and regional cooperation.
• Increase productivity: Drive power and transmission productivity to manage risk, maximize asset utility and deliver critical projects on time. Maturing asset management, formerly its own strategic goal, is now a part of this broader effort.
• Protect ratepayers: Maintain competitive, affordable and equitable long-term rates through sound business principles, employing innovative financial structures that shield existing customers from the cost of large-load expansions. Sustaining financial strength, formerly its own strategic goal, remains essential to BPA's competitiveness and its ability to withstand disruptive events.

BPA's other strategic goals are carried forward from the previous strategy:

• Invest in people: Workforce objectives for safety, recruitment and retention remain vital to ensure BPA is prepared to meet evolving demands.

• Preserve safe and reliable system operations: BPA will continue to protect and enhance the delivery of power and transmission services. The goal has been updated to better capture the importance of technology upgrades, advanced energy management systems and wide-area monitoring tools in the operation of a reliable, resilient and secure grid.
• Modernize business systems and processes: BPA will build highly efficient, resilient and adaptable business capabilities, including through a new objective to accelerate power and transmission service delivery.

You can find BPA's updated 2026-2030 Strategic Plan at www.bpa.gov/strategy.

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