This bill lets the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) set its own employee compensation plan, with limited exceptions to some federal pay rules. The BPA Administrator must create an initial plan within one year (in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management and with Secretary of Energy approval) and implement it within another year. The plan must be based on annual surveys of pay in the public parts of the electric industry, be consistent with BPA's approved budget, consider education, experience, responsibility, geography, and hiring and retention needs, and keep pay comparable to consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection. The Administrator must review the plan each year, publish the plan annually, and include certain salary information in public quarterly business reviews. The bill also allows the Administrator to hire and set pay for employees under the plan and exempts BPA from specific civil service chapters while keeping merit system principles where they apply to a wholly owned government corporation. The Administrator may hire physicians and experts without following civil service rules.
If you work for or apply to work at BPA, this bill gives BPA authority to set pay, bonuses, benefits, and other pay-related items under a written compensation plan. The plan must aim to match pay at similar consumer-owned utilities in the West and consider local pay differences and staffing needs. The bill requires BPA to publish the plan and certain salary information publicly. The bill also says the plan must be consistent with BPA's approved general and administrative budget and should encourage wide use of electric power at the lowest possible rates consistent with sound business principles.
No publicly available information on the bill’s effects on federal spending, the BPA budget, or ratepayer costs is included in the bill text. The bill does not include a cost estimate or specific funding changes.
The bill text states its purpose: to provide compensation flexibility to address retention and hiring issues at the Bonneville Power Administration. Supporters would point to the new pay plan, market surveys, and hiring authorities as tools to improve recruitment and retention.
No publicly available information in the bill text on opposition views or arguments against the bill.