About 30 federal workers who play crucial roles in building and maintaining the power grid for the Pacific Northwest have been reinstated after being terminated just two days earlier, as reported by the union representing them. These employees are integral to the operations of the Bonneville Power Administration, a division within the Department of Energy that supplies electricity to nearly 3 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Despite the importance of their roles, they received termination letters citing that their further employment would not be in the public interest, based on OPM instructions.
Last week, thousands of probationary federal employees, those with less than one or two years of service, were let go from various government agencies. AFGE Local union 928, representing the workers, disclosed that a total of 130 of its members involved in managing the power grid were dismissed, including those responsible for maintaining transmission lines and expanding power infrastructure to remote areas.
In addition to the recent terminations, around 250-300 union members had accepted the buyout offer under the Trump administration. The union expressed concerns that the reinstatement of only 30 employees is insufficient to adequately operate and maintain the power grid. It was highlighted that the agency does not receive congressional appropriation funds, and employee salaries are covered through energy rates.
