Strong market prices continue to bolster BPA’s net secondary revenues

Portland, Oregon – Three quarters through the fiscal year, the Bonneville Power Administration expects to finish the year with higher than expected net revenues, primarily driven by net secondary sales. BPA’s current net revenue forecast is $836 million compared to a rate case net revenue forecast of $178 million.

Both BPA’s Power and Transmission business lines are expected to finish fiscally stronger than originally projected. 

“Bonneville continues to reap the benefits of higher than normal market prices for power and an almost ideal volume and runoff shape to the river,” said Administrator and CEO John Hairston. “If this trend continues through the remaining three months, this will be BPA’s strongest financial year since 2006.”

The new $836 million net revenue forecast has grown $270 million since BPA’s mid-year forecast. 

With just three months remaining in the fiscal year, it looks highly likely that BPA’s reserves distribution clause will activate for both Power and Transmission. The RDC is a process for determining the distribution of financial reserves to purposes determined by the administrator.  The process, outlined in the General Rate Schedule Provisions, states the administrator determines what part, if any, will be applied to debt reduction, incremental capital investment, rate reduction, or any other purposes. 

BPA’s financial reserves are now projected to be $1.594 billion at year’s end. Power Services financial reserves for risk are projected at 243 days cash on hand, and Transmission Services reserves for risk are projected at 159 days cash on hand. BPA’s financial policy sets the maximum days cash on hand with no RDC at 120 days. As of now, that would mean a $500 million RDC for Power Services and a $72 million RDC for Transmission Services. 

“We are pleased to be in this position of very strong top-line and bottom-line financial performance that will likely lead to the reserves distribution clause triggering for both Power and Transmission and be able to pass back the benefits of this solid financial year in some form to our customers,” said Chief Financial Officer Marcus Harris. 

While most of the financial news for BPA is overwhelmingly positive, inflation, higher interest rates, supply chain constraints and the start of a new water year loom. 

“Barring an unexpected setback, this year looks like it will be among BPA’s financially strongest,” said Harris. “However, we start this process over in October. A new fiscal year will bring a new set of opportunities and challenges and requires a refocus to again manage the bottom lines of both the Power and Transmission business lines.”

BPA’s full third quarterly business review is available at Quarterly Business Review - Bonneville Power Administration (bpa.gov)  

About BPA
The Bonneville Power Administration, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit federal power marketer that sells wholesale, carbon-free hydropower from 31 federal dams in the Columbia River Basin. It also markets the output of the region’s only nuclear plant. BPA delivers this power to more than 140 Northwest electric utilities, serving millions of consumers and businesses in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. BPA also owns and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of high-voltage power lines and 261 substations, and provides transmission service to more than 300 customers. In all, BPA provides nearly a third of the power generated in the Northwest. To mitigate the impacts of the federal dams, BPA implements a fish and wildlife program that includes working with its partners to make the federal dams safer for fish passage. It also pursues cost-effective energy savings and operational solutions that help maintain safe, affordable, reliable electric power for the Northwest. www.bpa.gov 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bureau of Land Management is announcing new grants available to public and private partners to help support the agency’s mission to manage and protect wild horses and burros. The funding opportunity is open to local and state governments, tribes, other federal agencies and non-profit organizations. 

“The BLM is excited to continue our efforts at working collaboratively with institutions of education, non-profit organizations and other government agencies to manage and protect wild horses and burros on public lands,” said Holle’ Waddell, BLM Wild Horse and Burro Division Chief. “Whether it’s to help improve habitat quality, find good homes for our living legends, or apply birth control on the range, I encourage the broader wild horse and burro community to seriously consider this opportunity to partner with the BLM on these important actions.” 

This is the second year that the BLM has invited proposals for wild horse and burro projects through a new streamlined and centralized funding opportunity. Grant sizes will range from $1,000 to $50,000. 

An example of an on-going project awarded through the previous funding opportunity can be found in Oregon, where a public-private partnership helps dart difficult-to-reach wild horses with a birth-control vaccine. Thanks to the collaboration with local non-profit partner High Desert Strategies, 150 wild horses have been treated on public lands in eastern Oregon, which is slowing herd growth and reducing the need to remove animals to address overpopulation. 

Partnerships formed through this funding opportunity will support critical activities important to the management of wild horses and burros. Proposed off-range projects will be accepted until October 31, 2022 and could include activities such as facilitating the placement of excess animals into private care or providing educational opportunities to the public. Projects to support on-range activities, such as building habitat improvements or applying fertility control to wild horses and burros, can be submitted November 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023. 

Proposals to care for excess wild horses and burros in off-range facilities and proposals to fund research are not eligible under this funding opportunity. 

Applicants may propose to partner with BLM field, district state and national offices. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the relevant BLM subject matter expert identified in the funding opportunity notice to discuss the type of projects that may be possible, and whether they would meet the requirements under this funding opportunity.

To learn more or for instructions on how to submit an application, visit the Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov. 

-BLM-

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

In its second of three community grant funding rounds in 2022, the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization of Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: UMPQ), awarded 62 community grants to local nonprofits across its five-state footprint totaling $336,500.

Umpqua’s community grants support nonprofit organizations across Ore., Wash., Idaho, Calif. and Nev. and are part of the Bank’s overall foundation and corporate giving program that has invested more than $13.5 million since the Foundation was formed in 2014.

“Through our Community Grants program, it’s our honor to partner with and support these nonprofits serving a critical role in expanding access to services and economic opportunity,” shared Randy Choy, Umpqua Bank vice president of community giving and managing director of the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation. “Through private, public and nonprofit collaborations, we can achieve tremendous collective impact.”

These nonprofits, selected from among hundreds of applicants in the second of three grant cycles in 2022, demonstrated a steadfast commitment to serving low-to-moderate-income populations in at least one of eight categories: family engagement and resiliency; financial competency; housing stability and home ownership; college, career or technical readiness; entrepreneurship and business expansion; vibrant and equitable neighborhoods; technical and digital connectivity; and small business support and financial guidance.

The next deadline for community grant applications is 5 p.m. PT on Fri., Sept. 2, 2022. Learn more at www.UmpquaBank.com/Community.

The following recipients received grants between $5,000-10,000:

OREGON

WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA

IDAHO

NEVADA

About Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Bank, headquartered in Roseburg, Ore., is a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation and operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Umpqua Bank has been recognized for its innovative customer experience and banking strategy by national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company and CNBC. The company has been recognized for eight years in a row on FORTUNE magazine's list of the country's "100 Best Companies to Work For," and was recently named by The Portland Business Journal the Most Admired Financial Services Company in Oregon for the 17^th consecutive year. In addition to its retail banking presence, In addition to its retail banking presence, Umpqua Bank also owns Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc., a nationally recognized commercial finance company that provides equipment leases to businesses.