Edward Wendell “Ed” Sheets was born in Missoula, Montana, in 1949. When he was four, his family relocated to Spokane, Washington, and in 1960, the family relocated to Portland, Oregon. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Washington. He was special assistant to U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson from 1977 until Magnuson left office in 1981. That same year, he and Ronda Skubi were married. He served as director of the Washington State Energy Office during Governor John Spellman’s administration, where he played a role in the creation of the Northwest Power Planning Council, now known as the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. From 1981 to 1995, he served as executive director of the NWPPC. After leaving the council, he started a consulting company, Ed Sheets Consulting.

The Northwest Power Planning Council is a four-state regional planning body formed by Congress through the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to develop and maintain regional conservation and electric power plans and a fish and wildlife program. The council is composed of two representatives from each member state: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The mission of the council is "to preserve the benefits of the Columbia River for future generations." The body was originally known as the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council; the name was shortened to Northwest Power Planning Council in October 1981, and in 2003, the name was changed to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.