Reliability for Ratepayers Act
Sponsored By: Representative Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3]
Introduced
Summary
Compensation flexibility for Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) employees. This bill would create an Employee Compensation Program that lets BPA set pay, broaden hiring authority, and require annual reviews and public reporting.
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- BPA employees and executives: Would cover BPA staff including Senior Executive Service members and require an initial compensation plan within one year and implementation within one year after the plan is developed. The plan must be based on annual surveys and make pay competitive with consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection.
- Administrator hiring and pay authority: Would let the BPA administrator appoint officers and employees, fix compensation consistent with the plan, employ laborers and workers for construction and maintenance, and exempt BPA from specified civil service chapters. The administrator could hire physicians and outside experts without regard to those civil service laws when needed.
- Ratepayers and budgeting: Plans must be consistent with BPA's approved general and administrative budget and promote diversified electric power delivery at the lowest possible rates consistent with sound business principles.
- Oversight and transparency: The plan must be developed in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management and approved by the Secretary of Energy not to be unreasonably withheld. BPA would annually review and publish the compensation plan and report salaries above Level IV of the Executive Schedule in public reviews.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New pay and hiring rules at Bonneville Power Administration
The Bonneville Power Administration would set up a new pay plan for all staff within 1 year, with Energy Secretary approval after consulting the federal personnel office. The plan would be put in place within 1 year after it is written and updated each year. It would cover salary, bonuses, benefits, and incentives, based on pay at similar public electric utilities, and fit the approved budget and lowest‑possible‑rate goals. Total pay would aim to match consumer‑owned utilities in the Western Interconnection; the administrator’s pay would be reviewed by the Energy Secretary, the plan would be published yearly, and quarterly public reviews would show any salaries above Executive Schedule Level IV. The administrator could hire and set pay under this plan with exemptions from several civil service rules; merit principles would still apply as for a wholly owned government corporation, and experts and physicians could be hired without standard procedures.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3]
WA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]
WA • R
Sponsored 1/15/2025
Randall
WA • D
Sponsored 2/10/2025
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]
OR • D
Sponsored 3/5/2025
DelBene
WA • D
Sponsored 3/10/2025
Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5]
WA • R
Sponsored 4/7/2025
Smith (WA)
WA • D
Sponsored 5/29/2025
Schrier
WA • D
Sponsored 5/4/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov