the film forum library tutorial contact DONATE

Bonneville Power Administration Execs Offered New Jobs by U.S. Energy Department by Ted Sickinger The Oregonian, October 17, 2013

The two top executives of the Bonneville Power administration, suspended in July amid an investigation into discriminatory hiring practices at the agency, have been offered other positions within the U.S. Department of Energy, according to multiple sources close to the agency and the individuals.

BPA Administrator Bill Drummond and Chief Operating Officer Anita Decker were put on administrative leave in mid-July. The move came as the U.S. Department of Energy issued a management alert stating it had received credible evidence that BPA managers were retaliating against whistleblowers who brought the hiring problems to light.

BPA is one of four regional power marketing agencies within the U.S. DOE. It sells power from 31 hydroelectric dams in the Northwest and operates the bulk of the region's high voltage electrical grid.

To date, neither Bonneville nor the Department of Energy has commented on the status of the two executives. Drummond was fairly new to the administrator's job when the controversy blew up, and Decker was on loan to the Western Area Power Administration during at least part of the initial period when Bonneville had identified, and was supposedly fixing, improper hiring practices that were discriminating against veterans and other applicants.

The DOE's Inspector General's report, which was released last week, was widely expected to contain some specifics explaining the executives' suspensions and give them some chance to respond. The report was scathing in its findings, and put part of the blame on BPA's management culture, but it did not mention Drummond or Decker by name. It did, however, refer to "senior Bonneville managers" who were made aware of the proposed dismissal of at least one whistleblower and ignored it or allowed it to proceed despite specific directions from Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman to not take any retaliatory action against whistleblowers.

The Department of Energy remained under its cone of silence, saying it doesn't comment on personnel matters. One of the only government officials willing to talk about Bonneville's hiring imbroglio is U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, who plans to hold a joint press conference with the Public Power Council at BPA headquarters on Friday to discuss the agency's problems and future.

"There are a lot of layers and some complexity in trying to sort out who knew what when," said Scott Corwin, executive director of the Public Power Council, which represents many of the 140 public utilities who buy power from Bonneville. "These are well-respected, long-time leaders who are known to be good people, so there are a lot of concerns about these actions in the public power and cooperative world. We'd like to see this handled expeditiously, with transparency and create reasonable results."

John Saven, chief executive of Northwest Requirements Utilities, another BPA customer group, said his understanding was that both Drummond and Decker had been offered positions within the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., consistent with civil service rules that allow agencies to transfer staff members, including executives.

BPA and DOE Avoid Disclosure of Public Records on Bonneville's Hiring Scandal - Again by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian, 8/6/14
Energy Department Ousts 2 Top Officials of Bonneville Power Administration by Steven Mufson, Washington Post, 7/16/13
DOE Appoints Elliot Mainzer Interim Leader of BPA; Bill Drummond's Fate Unclear by Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian, 7/15/13

Update from The Oregonian, 8/6/14

In comments he (Bill Drummond) made to the energy trade publication Clearing Up this spring, Drummond denied there was any retaliation and questioned the integrity of DOE's investigation and of Poneman, saying he declined a transfer to another position within DOE because he "would not work with a deputy secretary I do not trust or respect."

Bill Drummond quote in The Oregonian, 8/6/14