The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

The Energy Department has chosen Bill Drummond to be the new administrator for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

As BPA’s administrator, Drummond will be responsible for managing the non-profit federal agency, which markets carbon-free power from Columbia River hydroelectric dams and the region's one nuclear plant.

BPA also operates most of the surrounding power grid, distributing wind and other energy to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Drummond’s leadership of BPA is part of a larger strategy for each of the Department’s power management areas to help lead the 21st century transformation of our nation’s electricity sector.

Drummond currently serves as BPA’s deputy administrator and has worked in the energy industry for over 30 years.

“The leadership of BPA is critically important because America’s continued global competiveness in the 21st century will be significantly affected by whether we can efficiently produce and distribute electricity to businesses and consumers, seamlessly integrating new technologies and new sources of power,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “I look forward to working with Bill Drummond to help lead BPA’s transition to a more flexible, resilient, and reliable electric grid and establish much greater coordination among system operators in partnership with its customers.”

Drummond began serving as BPA’s deputy administrator in October 2011, which included providing strategic leadership and executive management to the agency. In addition to his responsibilities as deputy, he oversaw the agency’s General Counsel, and Compliance and Governance, Risk Management, Internal Audit, Public Affairs, Finance, and Corporate Strategy functions.

Before joining BPA, Drummond was manager of the Western Montana Electric Generating and Transmission Cooperative in Missoula, Montana, for 17 years. From 1988 to 1994, he led the Public Power Council, an association of all Northwest publicly-owned utilities.