The Western Area Power Administration, usually called WAPA, is a power marketing agency inside the Department of Energy. It sells electricity produced at federal hydroelectric facilities and sets its rates to recover costs rather than to earn a profit. Its service area covers 15 states in the western United States.
WAPA also owns and runs the high-voltage network that carries that electricity, with more than 17,000 miles of transmission lines. Power moving across the system reaches about 40 million people. The agency works on renewable resources, energy efficiency, and newer grid technology as well.
Its staffing follows from those functions, covering the operation and upkeep of the transmission system, the day-to-day running of the grid, and the commercial and administrative work of selling federal power. Jobs are spread across the western states where the agency operates.