The Bonneville Power Administration could lose nearly 20% of its workforce because of President Donald Trump鈥檚 efforts to shrink the federal government, according to agency figures released Thursday and interviews with staff. That鈥檚 raising concerns among current and former employees about the agency鈥檚 ability to ensure the reliability of the region鈥檚 electrical grid.
About 200 of the agency鈥檚 more than 3,000 employees have accepted the Trump administration鈥檚 offer to resign and receive eight months of severance pay, which the administration sent via an email with the subject line 鈥淔ork in the Road.鈥�
BPA administrator John Hairston announced that number Thursday during the agency鈥檚 quarterly outlook presentation. An additional 90 job offers at BPA were rescinded as a result of the administration鈥檚 freeze on federal hiring. Chief financial officer is among the open positions held up by the hiring freeze.
Current and former BPA staff anticipate another 350 to 400 probationary employees could be cut 鈥� though one current employee said agency leadership have fought to keep that number below 150. that the Department of Energy planned to lay off most or all of its probationary employees.
The employees taking the buyout include linemen, engineers, substation operators and power dispatchers 鈥� positions that take years of apprenticeship to learn.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 overemphasize the fact that this is a serious, serious, operational problem,鈥� Randall Hardy, an energy consultant and former administrator of BPA, said about the staff losses. 鈥淭he reliability impacts of this could be very serious. I mean the lights go out. Unplanned outages.鈥�
Losing a large chunk of its highly trained workforce will hinder the agency鈥檚 ability to perform core functions, the BPA staff members said. Those functions include distributing hydropower from 31 federal dams and operating 75% of the Northwest鈥檚 power grid, ensuring reliable electricity for millions in the Northwest.
OPB also spoke about the staff losses with three BPA employees who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal. OPB verified their identities using a variety of publicly available records.
鈥淲hile the number of people leaving is a concern, the real problem is who is leaving,鈥� one BPA employee said. 鈥淲e have several mission critical employees with decades of institutional knowledge who have accepted the offer.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 sighing a lot,鈥� the person added. 鈥淚 feel so defeated. Every day is an emotional roller coaster.鈥�
During Thursday鈥檚 quarterly outlook presentation, Hairston said BPA leadership was working closely with the Department of Energy to carry out the president鈥檚 directions.
鈥淚 want to express my appreciation to Bonneville鈥檚 workforce for navigating these changes with professionalism, maintaining focus on BPA鈥檚 critical mission and advancing our strategic initiatives,鈥� Hairston said, adding that the Trump administration had 鈥渕ade it clear that it鈥檚 a national priority to increase the abundance of affordable, reliable, and secure energy to strengthen the grid and to enable the projects that will improve people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
BPA officials did not respond to emailed questions about how the reduction in its workforce would affect efforts to strengthen the grid and provide affordable and reliable energy, how many transmission-related employees were leaving the agency, or whether ongoing transmission upgrades would be slowed because of the loss of staff.
The BPA employees OPB spoke to said it would be unlikely the agency could strengthen and expand the grid as promised.鈥淣o way, we鈥檒l be in damage control and literally trying to keep the lights on,鈥� one transmission employee said. While employees are already dealing with limited resources and increasingly extreme weather, wildfires and rapid increases in electricity demand, this person said, 鈥淗aving one hand tied behind our back means putting the communities we serve at risk.鈥�
Scott Simms, executive director of the Public Power Council, which represents BPA power customers, said the personnel losses were very concerning, and that the council would be sending letters and seeking meetings with the Trump administration to express the critical role of BPA鈥檚 functions for Northwest energy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge duty and it鈥檚 extremely important and so we鈥檝e got safety as an issue,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got mission critical aspects in terms of dam operations, in terms of you鈥檙e making sure that those wires are safe, etc. so we wanna make sure that those folks who are highly trained remain in those jobs.鈥�
The Department of Energy did not respond to a request for comment.
The staff reduction at BPA is part of Trump鈥檚 vow to make substantial cuts across the federal workforce.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this week requiring federal agencies to work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the operation led by billionaire Elon Musk. The order installs at each federal agency a 鈥淒OGE Team Lead鈥� who has oversight over hiring.
Hardy, the former BPA administrator, said he considered the Bonneville staff reductions to be ironic because the agency is self-funded. It receives no money from taxpayers and funds all of its staff and programs with its power and transmission sales.
鈥淪o the administration isn鈥檛 saving a thing with these,鈥� Hardy said. 鈥� It doesn鈥檛 save one penny towards reducing the Federal deficit.鈥�