February 18, 2025 3:30 p.m. 

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they are demanding that President Donald Trump answer questions about his administration’s deep job cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration.

A joint release from the lawmakers said the “reckless and financially ludicrous decisions add up to undermine the dependability of the electric grid for Oregon and the entire Pacific Northwest”.

A letter to President Trump from Wyden and Merkley said, “The imminent departure of nearly 20% of BPA’s workforce – including linemen, engineers and power dispatchers – poses a direct and immediate threat to the reliability of the electric grid that serves millions of American families and businesses in the Pacific Northwest”. The letter continued, “We do not believe there is an energy emergency, but your actions certainly appear to be creating one through these cuts that actively jeopardize the stability of our energy infrastructure, right now”.

The release said that BPA plays a critical role in the Pacific Northwest’s power grid, distributing hydropower from 31 dams through more than 75 percent of the region’s transmission infrastructure.

The senators pressed the administration to answer their concerns by February 28th.

The full letter to President Trump is linked: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025_bpa_cuts_letter.pdf