Friday, January 29, 2016

Pacific Northwest Nuclear Plant Faces Inquiry over Performance, Management (Oregonian, Portland)

California Votes to Retain System That Pays Solar Users Retail Rate for Excess Power (NY Times)

Popularity of Clark Public Utilities’ Solar Program Could Reduce Subsidies (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Portland General Electric: Coal-Killing Legislation Would Save Up to $360M over Ballot Measure (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Avista Addresses Customer Bill Concerns (KHQ-TV, Spokane, WA)

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Washington Law Would Let Counties Sell Broadband Service When Comcast Won’t (Consumerist)

USDA on Drought “We Don’t Have Very Many Concerns” (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

Lewis County PUD Warns Customers about Phone Scam (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

States Ask Supreme Court to Stay Obama Climate Rules (Washington Examiner)

Lewis County PUD Warns Customers About Phone Scam (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

(CHEHALIS, WA) -- Lewis County PUD reports they have recently received reports from customers who say they have received calls from the utility’s Morton office where a male voice tells them that that their power will be shut off in two hours unless they make a payment over the phone.  They say that a utility worker is on the way to shut them off unless the payment is made.  Lewis County PUD officials says these are fraudulent calls not coming from the utility and if you receive such a call you should just hang up. PUD says you can always verify the status of your account by calling them directly at 360-748-9261.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Alcoa Official: Cheap Power Could Keep Ferndale Smelter Open (Bellingham Herald, WA)

East Coast Utilities 'Dodged a Bullet' with Winter Storm Jonas (Utility Dive)

City of Shelton Moving Forward with Changes to Marijuana Regulations (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Spokane’s Waste-To-Energy Plant under Scrutiny for Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Washington State Senator Pam Roach Kicked Off Sex-Trafficking Panel after Insulting Victims (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Quincy Named Country’s Top Data Center Location (PR Newswire)

Starvation Suspected in Massive Die-Off of Alaska Seabirds (Associated Press)

Klamath Falls: Renewed Fight over Bid Oregon Town’s Bid for Public Power Brewing (Utility Dive)

Port Townsend Paper Mill Already Below Carbon Cap Proposed by State (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Mason County: Growth Industry – Suspended On Leading Edge of Pot Business (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

Monday, January 11, 2016

Colville, Partners, Issue Bid to Study Salmon Habitat above Grand Coulee (Colville Tribune, Nespelem, WA)

Pend Oreille: Cutbacks at Usk Newsprint Operation Would Hurt Rural Utility, Officials Say (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Clark County Braces for Washington State Carbon Rules (Vancouver Columbian, WA)



Seattle City Light Pays Mariners, Sounders More Than $300,000 for Energy-Awareness Ads (Seattle Times, WA)

The Government Says Internet Service Isn’t Expanding Fast Enough (Washington Post)

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Threatened Chum Salmon Make Columbia River Comeback (Bonneville Power Administration)

(PORTLAND, OR) -- Northwest biologists are closely monitoring chum salmon this winter as they record what might be the largest run of Columbia River chum in 13 years. The 2015 run could be as high as 20,000, making it the largest since 2002.

The annual run of Columbia River chum salmon historically numbered more than 1 million. However, habitat loss and other factors caused their numbers to plummet during the last century to a low of just a few thousand per year. The federal government listed Columbia River chum as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.

Called “dog” salmon because of their canine-like teeth, chum are the last salmon of the year to return to the Columbia to spawn, and their young are the first to leave for the ocean in the spring. Chum salmon generally spawn in the lower part of the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, preferring tributaries where warm ground water pushes up through spawning gravel. The warm water quickly incubates their eggs.

The Bonneville Power Administration has funded two hatchery programs and construction of new spawning habitat for chum in several areas of the lower Columbia River. In 2011, BPA increased the capacity of two chum salmon spawning channels located on tributaries just below Bonneville Dam.

BPA, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal partners, manages river flows from Bonneville Dam to keep chum salmon redds (or nests of eggs) under water during critical times of the year. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is also building a new spawning channel for chum salmon on the Lewis River. It should be completed by summer 2016.


Video of chum spawning in a Lower Columbia River channel is also available.