Travis Kavulla

Travis Kavulla is the administrator and chief executive officer of the Bonneville Power Administration, sworn in to office on June 29, 2026. Prior to his appointment, he spent more than 15 years in both the private and public energy sectors.

As BPA’s administrator, Kavulla is responsible for managing the nonprofit federal power marketing administration headquartered in Portland, Oregon. BPA markets wholesale power, primarily from federally owned hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin, that serves 140 electric utilities and reaches millions of consumers. BPA also operates most of the Northwest’s high-voltage power grid, providing service to more than 400 transmission customers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Prior to his appointment as BPA administrator by the U.S. Department of Energy, Kavulla was head of policy at the Base Power Company, a residential electricity and energy storage provider. From 2019 to 2026, he was vice president of Regulatory Affairs for NRG Energy, where he guided the company’s regulatory policy related to wholesale and retail electricity, gas, and environmental-attribute markets at both the federal and state level. 

A fourth-generation Montanan, Kavulla served as commissioner of the Montana Public Service Commission from 2011 to 2019, including a term as chairman. During this time, he was also the president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and a co-chair for the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation. Other prior industry experience includes leading the energy program of the think tank R Street Institute. 

Kavulla is the author of dozens of commentaries, speeches and regulatory decisions concerning the policy and economics of the power sector. He also is a lecturer and writer, having routinely taught a course in utility regulation and electricity markets at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, and serving as the energy editor of American Affairs, a quarterly journal.

Kavulla received a bachelor’s in history from Harvard University and a master’s in history from the University of Cambridge. He and his wife Laura have three children.