Travis Kavulla

Out today: My @AmericanAffrs essay trying to reset the often-fever-pitched conversation about data centers & energy, with concrete ideas for how growth can be accelerated and legacy consumers can be protected -->

I heard someone say they didn't understand how "permitting was relevant to affordability". Guys, it is the scarcity of supply relative to demand that is the foremost reason many commodities, especially energy, have become less affordable. The quicker any market can respond to get new supply online, the better. Indeed, "free entry" is a fundamental premise of any successful market. These aren't different conversations. These are largely the same conversation.

This position on my executive team is immensely important -- helming our in-house NEPA shop (as a government-owned utility, we are both a developer *and* the government, so this is a critical role) and also in charge of our Fish & Wildlife program, which at nearly half a billion dollars annually is larger than most states'. Long story short: we need a candidate who can execute on our Grow the Grid strategy on permitting, while also working as my second on the extensive Fish Diplomacy that is part and parcel of operating the nation's largest hydroelectric system. Deepening this relationships and funding fish programs that really matter are at the heart of our mission. Please give this position a look and, if you have what it takes, apply to serve your country: usajobs.gov/job/892065500?_g…

As a frequent worshipper at the parish's early service -- what we lovingly call "the Boomer Mass", where Haugen settings are prominent -- the Haugen/Hegseth relation is like if Simon & Garfunkel and Metallica were familial connections

Found a governance model even weirder and more hybridized than a typical RTO's-->

The girls get to choose my outfit and while "big fat pumpkin daddy" is perhaps not the winsome approach I personally would choose, I think I pull it off decently well. Happy Halloween!

I've been officially relieved of duty from pumpkin carving, leaving matters to the pros

Super el Niño is a strong @bonnevillepower costume, with (not pictured) the Workday HR platform a close second (& even scarier)-->

. @TVAnews & @SpaceXSI joined us at our All Managers Meeting to describe their fast-moving commercial engagement that brought ~1GW load online in <2 years, all while providing benefits to other customers & system reliability. Thanks to them for sharing this case study.

The Halloween strategic candy reserve has been patiently refilled through successive Costco orders -- though as usual making the mistake of a highly diverse portfolio including sugarfree fruit snacks, rather than a concentrated position in chocolate sampler, which has proved an irresistible temptation to the reserve's managers.

We in the power biz often boast about how complex a machine the grid is. It can't rival this:

Took the kids to early voting today -- their first time at a polling station, & my last time voting out east before I move back west.

Amazing film. A play within a play within a play.

Guess I'm doing this-->

Over the course of 3 years, @usbr is transferring control of the three switchyards at North America's largest power plant, Grand Coulee, to @bonnevillepower -- a move that allows us both to focus on what we are best at, & provides opportunities for additional investment in reliability. I want to thank the Bureau for its cooperation on this complex project. Below: a short video of the switchout and a photo of the great BPA team taking the lead on the transfer, with the 230-kV yard in the background.

Did you know Lady Bird Johnson took a personal interest in the aesthetics of electric transmission towers -- and came up with this? (I certainly did not, and am still wondering whether Grand Coulee personnel are putting one over on me.)