Tacoma Power favors BPA "SliceBlock" product as new long-term contract nears

At the May 6, 2025 meeting of the City of Tacoma Government Performance and Finance Committee, Tacoma Power staff briefed the committee on Bonneville Power Administration contract developments and said the utility plans to finalize a long-term BPA power contract later this year.

Leah Marquez Glynn, energy resource planning and evaluation manager in the power management section of Tacoma Power, told the committee: "We're near the end of a multiyear process of working with the Bonneville Power Administration to develop a long term power contract, and we plan to commit to the contract later this year." Rachel Gardiner Clark, Tacoma Power’s integrated resource planning manager, said Tacoma Power’s analysis continues to show the SliceBlock product is the best choice for the utility.

The matter matters because Tacoma Power relies heavily on BPA supply: the presentation said BPA accounts for about 60% of the utility’s generating portfolio. The staff presentation also said the BPA power bill accounts for "about 30" of Tacoma Power’s revenue requirement but did not specify units; that figure was stated in the slide deck without further clarification.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a federal…