Columbia Generating Station

The Columbia Generation Station, or CGS, is a 1,207 gross MW boiling water nuclear reactor located in Richland, Washington. It began commercial operations in December 1984 and is licensed to operate through December 2043. While CGS is owned and operated by Energy Northwest, BPA markets 100% of the energy produced and pays for all of the costs which are included in the revenue requirements of the Power Services rate structure.

CGS complements federal hydropower.

CGS supports BPA’s mission of delivering reliable, clean and affordable power to its electric utility customers and their consumers. It is operated on a not-for-profit basis and complements federal hydropower by serving as a hedge against low water years and price volatility in energy markets. It also gives BPA additional operational flexibility by offsetting intermittent renewable resources, such as wind and solar, and reducing its generation in times of excess hydro generation.

Extended Power Uprate

Extended power uprate, EPU, is an option for U.S. commercial nuclear reactors to increase generating capability of the unit. An EPU of CGS will result in ~162MWe increase in output. Implementing an EPU at CGS, will require significant modification to major pieces of equipment such as the Electrical Distribution System, high-pressure turbine, condensate pumps and motors, and the main generator. Due to timing of CGS’s current life cycle management of major equipment, EPU implementation could prove beneficial due to coinciding with planned equipment replacement.

For more background information, please see the FY24 Q4 Quarterly Business Review Technical Workshop presentation, starting on slide 78. 

Energy Northwest and BPA are currently investigating the business case for an EPU and hosted a public meeting in April 2025. See the April 8, 2025 public meeting presentation for more details.