Eighty-eight years after its creation by an act of Congress, Bonneville Power is widely viewed as both an engine of prosperity in the Northwest, and — at times — an obstacle to environmental goals and economic growth.

Amid the Trump administration's efforts to purge the federal workforce, "mass firings" at the Bonneville Power Administration are creating concerns for future energy projects and data center growth in the Pacific Northwest.

By cutting the Bonneville Power Administration, President Trump is increasing the risk of blackouts in our region,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “This is dangerous.”

Roughly 130 of BPA’s more than 3,000 employees were told they’d been dismissed last week, as part of large-scale job cuts initiated by the Trump administration. But 30 of those workers were later deemed critical to BPA’s core work to manage power across the Pacific Northwest,

After an uproar over staffing cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration, the Trump administration is trying to rehire a handful of staffers it laid off last week.