Energy Northwest

Energy Northwest (formerly Washington Public Power Supply System) is a United States public power joint operating agency formed by State law in 1957 to produce at-cost power for Northwest utilities. Headquartered in Richland, Washington, the WPPSS became commonly known as "Whoops" before being renamed Energy Northwest in November 1998. Agency membership includes 28 public power utilities, including 23 of the State’s 24 public utility districts.

Energy Northwest is governed by two boards: an executive board and a board of directors. The executive board has 11 members: five representatives from the board of directors, three gubernatorial appointees and three public representatives selected by the board of directors. The board of directors includes a representative from each member utility.

The consortium’s solar, hydro, wind and nuclear projects deliver nearly 1,300 megawatts of electricity to the Northwest power grid. Current power projects include White Bluffs Solar Station, Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project, Nine Canyon Wind Project and Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant.

Energy Northwest functions as a municipal corporation, similar to a town or city. That legal status allows the agency to issue public bonds to raise the financial capital necessary to build additional power generating and other public utility facilities.

New power generating facilities currently under consideration include additional wind power sites throughout Washington; a 320-megawatt natural gas plant in Kalama, Washington; a carbonless energy park in eastern Washington; and three solar projects in Oregon at 5-megawatts each. The agency also provides a variety of business services in the energy, power generation and technical fields, including a range of project management and facility operations and maintenance services.

In April 2006, Energy Northwest achieved ISO 14001:2004 registration, formalizing its environment stewardship program.