Energy Northwest, which operates Columbia Generating Station, is carrying four solicitations with live deadlines on its supplier portal: a feed water heater level control upgrade closing 21 October, wastewater pond liners and leak detection replacement closing 5 November, a feed water heater replacement closing 11 November, and 4.16 kilovolt cable testing services closing 16 November.

The two feed water heater items are different buys and they are easy to collapse into one. 718041 is a level control upgrade closing 21 October. 716712 is a replacement closing 11 November.

A public power agency buying for its own plant has no obligation to post federally, and Energy Northwest does not. The work exists, the deadlines are real, and anyone watching only the federal feeds never sees it.

This is the specific case behind the figure in The Record. Across four operator and prime-contractor portals read between 25 August and 17 October 2026, almost nothing had a counterpart on SAM.gov, Grants.gov or FPDS.