Stephen J. (Steve) Wright
Administrator
Bonneville Power Administration
905 N.E. 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
Stephen J. Wright is the rare chief executive who really did come up through the ranks. He began his career in 1981 at the Bonneville Power Administration in the agency’s conservation office as an entry-level GS-9. Today, he is BPA’s Administrator and Chief Executive Officer, with the second longest tenure of any administrator.
Mr. Wright was named Administrator in January 2002 but had served as Acting Administrator since November 2000. In making the appointment, then Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said, "Bonneville is extremely important to maintaining a vital economy and healthy environment in the Pacific Northwest, and we have confidence it will continue to do so under Steve Wright's direction. He exerted outstanding leadership through some of the most turbulent times for the electricity industry. He has demonstrated a bipartisan ability to work with the many constituencies in the region and in the nation."
In confirming his appointment under a new administration, Secretary Steven Chu said, “Steve Wright has proven to be an adept leader of an agency critical to the well being of the Pacific Northwest that is also contributing to meeting our national objectives. He is doing important work in accelerating the accomplishment of energy efficiency and looking for ways to pair hydropower with expanded renewable energy generation such as wind power. I am very excited that he has picked up the charge to do that, and he has my full confidence.”
Mr. Wright took office (first as Acting Administrator) on the eve of the West Coast energy crisis of 2000-2001. His tenure has spanned some of the region's greatest energy challenges – among them, developing power contracts that preserve the value of the federal hydropower system, consecutive years of low water in the Northwest’s hydro-based system and Endangered Species Act litigation.
He also has overseen the agency during a time of exciting and ambitious changes. These include the emergence of wind energy as a significant resource, construction and scoping of major new transmission lines to maintain reliability and deliver renewable resources, technical innovations associated with development of a Smart Grid, renewed focus on energy efficiency and progress in restoring Columbia Basin fish runs.
A hallmark of his management style is his belief in collaboration and transparency. He has reached out to customers, tribes and other stakeholders – an achievement reflected in BPA’s highest ever customer, constituent and tribal satisfaction scores. Under his leadership, the region concluded a multi-year Regional Dialogue with customers that resulted in all of the agency’s consumer-owned utility customers signing 20-year contracts with BPA in late 2008.
During the West Coast energy crisis, Mr. Wright employed creative means to keep the Pacific Northwest from experiencing an electric blackout even as he maneuvered to keep the agency solvent by reducing spot market purchases as much as possible. In the aftermath, he worked successfully to restore the agency’s financial stability.
More recently, he forged an agreement with several Columbia Basin tribes, three states and other federal agencies to provide long-term funding certainty for key fish restoration projects. It is a historic agreement that changed a paradigm from decades of litigation to an era of collaboration.
During Mr. Wright’s tenure, BPA has moved forward on several transmission projects that will bring more renewable resources, particularly wind power, to the region and at the same time provide greater reliability. Wind on BPA’s system has grown from 25 megawatts in 1998 to more than 2,800 MW in 2010. Under Mr. Wright’s direction, BPA is working with the region to integrate as much as 6,000 megawatts of wind energy into the regional grid by 2013.
He has worked to ensure transparency by opening up BPA’s financial and decision-making processes to public review and introduced internal efficiencies that have saved ratepayers tens of millions of dollars.
In acknowledgement of these and other achievements, Mr. Wright received a Presidential Executive Rank Award in 2008 for sustained and exceptional performance and leadership. In announcing the award, Jeff Kupfer, then Deputy Secretary for the Department of Energy, noted that Mr. Wright’s ability to bring people together has played a key role in BPA’s success in meeting challenges. “Mr. Wright has focused on building collaborative relationships with the agency’s stakeholders,” he said. “Under his leadership BPA has enhanced stakeholder confidence and increased financial transparency and accountability.”
Mr. Wright began his work at BPA in the agency’s energy conservation office in 1981, shortly after receiving his masters in public affairs from the University of Oregon. He moved to BPA's Washington, D.C., office in 1984. In 1987, he began managing the agency's California office, then returned to the D.C. office as manager in 1990. In 1998, he returned to BPA headquarters in Portland as Corporate Senior Vice President where he had responsibility for environment, fish and wildlife; finance and budget; strategic planning; human resources and public affairs. He became Deputy Administrator in 2000, followed shortly by his appointment as Acting Administrator.
He and his wife, Kathleen, and their three children live in Portland, Ore. In addition to his masters, he holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.
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