Mission, Vision, Values

Our Mission

The Bonneville Power Administration's mission as a public service organization is to create and deliver the best value for our customers and constituents as we act in concert with others to assure the Pacific Northwest:

  • An adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply; 
  • A transmission system that is adequate to the task of integrating and transmitting power from federal and non-federal generating units, providing service to BPA's customers, providing interregional interconnections, and maintaining electrical reliability and stability; and  
  • Mitigation of the impacts on fish and wildlife from the federally owned hydroelectric projects from which BPA markets power.

BPA is committed to cost-based rates, and public and regional preference in its marketing of power. BPA sets its rates as low as possible consistent with sound business principles and the full recovery of all of its costs, including timely repayment of the federal investment in the system

Our Vision


BPA is an engine of the Northwest's economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. BPA's actions advance a Northwest power system that is a national leader in providing:
  • High reliability;
  • Low rates consistent with sound business principles;
  • Responsible environmental stewardship; and
  • Accountability to the region.

We deliver on these public responsibilities through a commercially successful business.

Our Core Values

In carrying out its public responsibilities, BPA is guided by its core values.

Safety

We value safety in everything we do. Together, our actions result in people being safe each day, every day. At work, at home and at play, we all contribute to a safe community for ourselves and others.

Together and individually, we demonstrate our commitment by:

  • Taking the time to do our work safely;
  • Taking actions to prevent and eliminate hazards;
  • Speaking up when we see an unsafe situation; and
  • Incorporating safety into everything we do, including how we define success.

Trustworthy Stewardship

As stewards of the FCRPS, we are entrusted with the responsibility to manage resources of great value for the benefit of others. We are trusted when others believe in and are willing to rely upon our integrity and ability.

To be worthy of trust we must:

  • Consistently adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards
  • Obtain the greatest value from the FCRPS for the people of the region
  • Collaborate with those we serve as we make our decisions
  • Communicate clearly, forthrightly and fully
  • Hold ourselves accountable for performance on our commitments by aligning our words and actions.

Collaborative Relationships

Trustworthiness grows out of a collaborative approach to relationships. Internally we must collaborate across organizational lines to maximize the value we bring to the region. Externally we work with many stakeholders who have conflicting needs and interests. Through collaboration we discover and implement the best possible long-term solutions.

This approach of creating together requires:

  • Taking time to listen and understand each other's viewpoints, issues, and concerns
  • Searching respectfully for mutually beneficial solutions
  • Sharing and explaining decisions in a timely fashion

Operational Excellence

Operational excellence is a cornerstone of delivering on our vision (system reliability, low rates, environmental stewardship and regional accountability) and will place us among the best electric utilities in the nation.

Operational excellence requires:

  • Continual review and improvement of standardized systems, processes and controls
  • Measurement of our accomplishments against clearly-defined and benchmarked performance standards
  • Investment in our people
  • Focus on ease of doing business with customers and with each other