BPA markets wholesale electrical power from 31 federal hydroelectric projects in the Northwest, one nonfederal nuclear plant and several small nonfederal power plants.
This section of the site is dedicated to providing information around BPA's current, future and past power and transmission rate cases and tariff proceedings.
This page provides information dedicated to helping customers, contractors and vendors conduct business transactions with BPA, to include: buying and selling products or services, submitting invoices, forms, paying BPA, and BPA's Business Code of Conduct for Contract Personnel.
Environmental Services works closely with numerous Federal and State agencies, Tribes, landowners, and the public to protect and recover endangered species, protect and preserve our cultural resources, and reduce impacts to wetlands, air, water, and the human environment.
BPA supports over 15,000 miles of transmission lines as well as additional fish and wildlife habitat across Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and California. This section provides commonly requested information.
BPA is dedicated to public involvement and transparency. To that end, we hold a number of events and public comment periods to update and receive input from stakeholders and the public.
This area of the BPA website is designed to help you quickly access topics of public interest that affect multiple aspects of BPA's mission or include both power and transmission concerns.
BPA is self-financing, meaning it does not depend on annual appropriations from Congress to fund its operations. Rather, BPA’s operations are funded by revenues from power and transmission customers.
When you work at BPA you will be defining the future of energy by finding the lowest cost, most reliable power solutions for Northwest communities and residents.
A new tab on your browser is being opened to a third-party, non-governmental website that BPA does not maintain or control. BPA does not endorse any product or service, and is not responsible for, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on the page you are about to visit. Additionally, the privacy policies of this third-party page may differ from those of BPA.
For BPA to deliver electricity safely and reliably to the
Northwest, its transmission line rights-of-way must remain clear of all
structures, fire hazards, vegetation and any other use that may interfere with
the operation or maintenance of the line.
These policies aren’t just about delivering reliable power,
they’re also about human safety. Every year people are killed or seriously
injured by power lines. In almost every case, lives could have been saved and
injuries avoided if the basic safety practices outlined below had been
followed.
Electricity can jump between two objects that aren’t touching!
You don’t have to be touching a power line to be a risk of getting shocked. Electricity can travel from one surface to another even when the two objects don’t touch. In the case of high-voltage lines, electricity can jump across an air gap, causing damage to structures, plants and people. BPA monitors the structures and vegetation adjacent to its right of ways to protect property and lives.
As a general precaution, when under a power line, never put yourself or any object any higher than 14 feet above the ground. However, BPA does not recommend that anyone attempt to calculate how close they can come to a power line.
When in doubt, make the call!
Want to build a structure, grow crops or bury cables near a transmission line right-of-way?
Call BPA at 1-800-836-6619 beforehand.
Learn how power lines intersect with our day-to-day lives.
Building of any structures within a BPA right-of-way is specifically prohibited. Coordinating with BPA early in your planning process can keep you safe and avoid wasting time and money.
Buildings located off BPA’s rights-of-way may collect an induced voltage if not grounded correctly. BPA recommends grounding metallic components on buildings near a power line and will assist in grounding metallic objects near rights-of-way after receiving a request and conducting an investigation.
Have questions? Call BPA at 1-800-836-6619.
Most crops, less than 10 feet in height, can be grown safely under power lines. Orchards, Christmas trees and structure-supported crops (i.e., trellises) require special consideration.
It only takes one tree to cause a region-wide blackout! In 1996, one tree from an orchard in the Pacific Northwest grew into a transmission line’s operating space and the electricity flashed over to the tree. The resulting problems culminated in a blackout that affected nearly 7.5 million customers in nine Western states.
In 2003, three transmission lines in Ohio failed due to contacts with trees and kicked off a series of events that led to a massive power outage knocking out power to 50 million people across eight Northeast states and Ontario, Canada.
Given that the culprits of most power outages are storms, fallen trees, and increasingly, wildfires, ensuring BPA’s 15,000 miles of transmission lines remain clear of vegetation requires a skilled team working year-round. Learn more about our vegetation management team and the important role of keeping rights-of-ways clear and identifying and removing “danger trees” here.
Have questions? Call BPA at 1-800-836-6619.
Vehicles and large equipment that don’t extend more than 14 feet in height can typically be operated safely under BPA lines.
However, under some high-voltage lines, vehicles can collect an induced voltage. This is particularly true if the vehicle is parked on a nonconductive surface such as asphalt or dry rock. The only way to be sure you won’t get shocked is to park your car away from the high-voltage power line.
BPA has specific restrictions for parking and roads within the right-of-way to keep possible shocks at a low level. Contact BPA at 1-800-836-6619 before locating roads and parking areas within the BPA right-of-way.
Under some circumstances, voltages and currents from power lines can interfere with the operation of some implanted cardiac pacemakers. However, BPA has not seen a case where a BPA line has caused any interference. If you or someone you know with a particular implant is working near powerlines, contact a physician to determine if certain implants are susceptible to power lines.
Caution should be used in storing, handling and installing irrigation pipes, and in operating spray irrigation systems near power lines. Never allow the irrigation system to spray onto power lines or towers.
For more information on storing, handling, installing or operating an irrigation system on BPA rights-of-way and to apply to use BPA’s right-of-way please contact BPA at 1-800-836-6619.
Pipes and cables should not be installed closer than 50 feet to a BPA tower, associated guy wires or grounding systems. These grounding systems are not visible above ground and must be located before installing any underground utilities. Grounding systems are long, buried wires that are sometimes attached to the structures and can run up to 300 feet along the right-of-way.
Contact BPA at 1-800-836-6619 before installing any underground utilities within a BPA power line right-of-way.
BPA strongly discourages locating fences within the right-of-way as they can cause a potential safety hazard and an access problem. Barbed wire and woven wire fences insulated from the ground on wooden posts can assume an induced voltage from nearby power lines. Contact BPA at 1-800-836-6619 if you are interested in applying to place a fence on the right-of-way using the guideline that the location must be a minimum of 50 feet from any BPA structure.
BPA does not permit the building of swimming pools within BPA rights-of-way because it impedes our ability to operate and maintain the power line and presents a potential safety hazard to the public. Hazards range from possible electrical contact with the wires (with pool skimmers or rescue poles, for example) to dangers that can be encountered during and after lightning strikes on transmission facilities.
BPA does not permit burning within the right-of-way. Smoke and hot gases from a fire can create a conductive path for electricity. When a fire is burning under a power line, electricity could arc from the wire, through the smoke and to the ground, endangering people and objects nearby.
BPA strongly discourages anyone from flying a kite, model airplane or drone anywhere near a power line. Electricity can arc and destroy your equipment, or worse, travel down the kite string and electrocute you. If your kite, model airplane or drone gets caught on a line or tower, don’t attempt to remove it. Call your local utility.
Climbing on power line towers or guy wires can be extremely hazardous. Do not do it under any circumstance. It is dangerous and illegal.
Lightning will usually strike the highest nearby object, which might be a power line tower or wire. Play it safe. Stay away from power lines and other tall objects during electrical storms. Lightning is dangerous if you are standing near where it enters the ground.
