With data centers expected to become the largest source of electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest, Washington legislators are pressing ahead with a bill aimed at protecting the grid and offsetting potential hikes for utility ratepayers. 

The federal government may have pulled out of an agreement that could have led to removal of the four Lower Snake River dams, but the state continues to evaluate how their removal in the future could impact transportation networks. 

John Hairston, who has served as the administrator of Bonneville Power Authority for the past five years and led recent efforts to modernize and expand its transmission infrastructure and operations, has announced his retirement. 

Federal energy regulators on Jan. 29 greenlit a roughly $2 billion renewable energy megaproject on a Yakama Nation sacred site overlooking the Columbia River in Klickitat County.

Kennewick-based Cascade Natural Gas Corp. will pay $2 million to settle violations issued by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission for a 2023 explosion that killed one and injured another. 

Five awardees, including Energy Northwest, are on track to receive a combined $12.1 million in federal funding to build and operate electric vehicle charging stations at 14 locations along highways in Washington state.

A new map of data centers and related infrastructure across the U.S. developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is being touted as a way to help utilities and communities anticipate and prepare for the potential impacts of the resource-hungry facilities. 

The company designing the small modular nuclear reactors planned near Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station has signed a contract that will provide components for the state-of-the-art facility. 

President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to unveil a new initiative to send the country’s nuclear waste from future power plants to states that sign up for it in exchange for extensive economic investment. 

The Washington State Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments this week in a case challenging the constitutionality of Initiative 2066, a voter-approved measure that protects natural gas as an energy option in the state.