Ratepayer Owned Public Utilities Launch Ads to Protect Affordable, Reliable, and Clean Power for Communities (News Release: Northwest RiverPartners)

The Biden Administration’s consideration of a proposal to tear down dams public utilities in Northern Nevada rely on could raise electricity rates by up to 65%.

 

(VANCOUVER, WA) - - On behalf of four of its Nevada members, Northwest RiverPartners today launched ads that urge the Biden Administration to protect affordable, reliable, and clean hydropower.

There are four public electric utility cooperatives serving Northern Nevada which receive nearly 100% of their electricity from the Federal Columbia River Power System managed by the Bonneville Power Administration.  Nevadans affected by power rate increases would be customers of Surprise Valley Electrification Corporation in Washoe County; Harney Electric Cooperative in Humboldt County; Wells Rural Electric Company in Elko and Eureka Counties; and Raft River Rural Electric Cooperative in Elko County.

“As a small, customer owned utility, we purchase power from the Bonneville Power Administration.  BPA power is baked into the economy of Northern Nevada.  Many of our co-op members may not even know that hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake River provide almost 100% of the electricity for our community. Without these dams, our rates would be forced to increase,” said Clay Fitch, CEO, Wells Rural Electric Cooperative.

A study commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration in 2022 examined replacement resources and costs for impacts associated with the removal of the lower Snake River dams. Under a “deep decarbonization” scenario with no new combustion, the analysis identified cost increases of up to 65% for public power customers.

Losing the dams on the lower Snake River would not only hurt Nevadans by raising electricity prices, it would also hurt electricity reliability and Nevada’s ability to meet state greenhouse gas emissions goals in communities who have already seen the impacts of climate change from fires, heat domes, and even remnants of a tropical storm.

Utilities are already confronting unprecedented challenges in ensuring reliability of the Western grid due to extreme weather and the retirement of fossil fueled generation.  Policies aimed at electrifying transportation and home heating to fight climate change may double the demand for power by 2050. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council has forecasted that all subregions of the Western Grid will be at risk of blackouts as early as 2025.  In confronting these challenges, the United States can’t afford to lose any clean, reliable source of energy like the hydropower Nevadans depend on.

The public utilities at greatest risk of rate increases serve communities defined by the Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) “Climate and Economic Justice Screen Tool” as “overburdened, underserved, and disadvantaged.” 

Chad Black, General Manager of the Raft River Rural Electric Cooperative, “Many of our members find it challenging to carry the energy burden they already do, and it is these communities who will be hardest hit by massive rate increases if we are unable to meet our decarbonization efforts on schedule.”  

Guided by a stay order issued by the U.S. District Court of Oregon, The Biden Administration has entered into private meetings with plaintiffs to try to resolve the litigation related to the Columbia River System.  The stay order articulates a set of “Federal Government Commitments” which include: “The Administration commits to exploring lower Snake River habitat restoration opportunities, including but not limited to migration corridor restoration through breaching the four lower Snake River dams.”  The State of Nevada is not represented in the settlement discussions.

It is difficult for these public utilities to watch the federal government negotiating behind closed doors on something that is imperative to Nevadans. The Biden Administration owes the people of Nevada and these co-op members more answers on whether they intend to raise electricity rates and set back our nation’s clean energy goals.

Earlier this summer representatives from Harney Electric Cooperative, Raft River Electric Cooperative, and Wells Rural Electric Cooperative sent a letter to the Nevada Congressional delegation expressing these concerns. You can read the letter here.

You can watch an ad here: https://youtu.be/bBTxO5LETRw

 

About Northwest RiverPartners

Northwest RiverPartners is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization.

Members include community-owned utilities, ports, and businesses from across the northwestern United States. The organization is focused on raising awareness about how the Northwest’s hydropower system betters communities and the natural environment and encourages science-based solutions that help hydropower and salmon coexist and thrive. http://nwriverpartners.org

Anti-Hydro Interests Continue Attack on Pacific NW Clean Energy (Northwest RiverPartners, Vancouver, WA)

Removing region’s hydroelectric infrastructure is anti-science and would result in more fossil fuel consumption

(Vancouver, WA) - - A group led by anti-hydro and harvest interests, including the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Idaho Rivers United, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Idaho Conservation League, on Friday announced their intent to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding water temperatures in the Snake River.

In the hottest year ever recorded on Earth, these special interests are ignoring science by asserting that Snake River dams—not climate change--cause water conditions dangerous to sockeye salmon.  If these groups are successful in destroying the Pacific Northwest’s hydroelectric infrastructure, the region’s biggest source of carbon-free energy, they would prolong the region’s reliance on electricity produced from fossil fuels.

Kurt Miller, Northwest RiverPartners Executive Director said:

“It’s concerning that anti-hydro interests are taking a position to remove our most important carbon-free energy source when they say they are concerned about hot river temperatures.  Water is our power to fight climate change.  Study after study demonstrates that we can’t meet our clean energy goals without our existing hydroelectric infrastructure.

“Losing these dams inevitably means more years spent relying on fossil fuel electricity generation, increasing our carbon footprint, and making ocean and river temperatures more dangerous for salmon. Meeting our clean energy goals and continuing our salmon recovery efforts isn’t advanced by lawsuits from special interests. As recent investments have shown, we can move toward recovering salmon and keeping our clean hydropower infrastructure.” 

Northwest RiverPartners has closely followed the science on river temperatures.  Warmer air temperatures cause warmer river temperatures. There have been heat-related salmon die-offs in Canada’s undammed Fraser River and undammed rivers as far north as Alaska.

It’s also noteworthy that these groups filed a lawsuit over sockeye salmon, even though this year’s Snake River sockeye returns are some of the best in recent memory.

This fight is not new, similar anti-hydro and salmon harvest interests took out a full-page ad in The New York Times in October 1999 urging then Vice President Gore to make the decision to remove the four Lower Snake River dams or Snake River Chinook salmon “will be extinct by 2017.”  According to Columbia River Dart data, a project of the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences (Columbia River Dart), 15,783 total adult Chinook passed through Ice Harbor Dam in 1999, the lowest on the Snake River.  Thanks to federal and ratepayer investments in fish passage and salmon recovery, those numbers had jumped to 63,983 in 2017 and by 2022 (the last data set available on the Columbia River Dart website), that number had increased to 118,759.

Miller added, “For a quarter of a century, anti-hydro interests have ignored the facts and the science on climate change and the important role our region’s hydroelectric dams play in helping meet the challenge of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. By doing so, they hurt our efforts to reduce emissions and help salmon that are dying because of climate change.”

Key study reference sources below:

1. PNNL peer-reviewed study showing lower Snake dams help mitigate extreme river temperature
2. NOAA Fisheries peer-reviewed study showing undammed Salmon River is more at risk for extreme river temperatures than lower Snake River because the Salmon River doesn’t have dams to help maintain flows.
3. Three studies demonstrating prolonged reliance on fossil fuels if dams are removed: “Executive Summary: Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement,” https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/14957; “2019 Biennial Energy Report: Issues, Analysis and Updates,” Washington State Department of Commerce: http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/COMMERCE-Biennial-Energy.pdf, states: “First, without explicit policy support, the electrification of the state's economy - in particular, the conversion of various transportation uses from gasoline and diesel – will likely not be served entirely with renewable energy. Hydro is the main source of power in the existing mix, but Washington cannot add new large hydro projects to meet growth in electricity demand. A likely scenario is that utilities would meet growing demand with a combination of natural gas generation and enough new renewables to comply with the 15 percent standard under the EIA.”;  https://nwriverpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/EGPSC_LSRD-Power-Cost-Replacement-Study_6_29_2022_Final_1223.pdf: Due to existing decarbonization mandates all planned wind and solar generation is already spoken for. To keep the grid reliable without hydropower, we’d have to run more fossil fuel generation to try to meet energy demand equating to millions of additional metric tons of CO2.
4. Climate impacts on salmon:  The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” noted that declines in ecosystem function and fish populations have coincided with “unabated” warming of the ocean since 1970 (https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/3/2022/03/01_SROCC_SPM_FINAL.pdf): Similarly, a peer-reviewed study by Dr. David Welch in 2020 compared Chinook salmon survival along the West Coast of North America during the same 50-year period. His study concluded that these populations have experienced a 65% decline in survival rates.  Those figures apply to nearly pristine rivers in Southeast Alaska and Canada as well as more urban areas like the Puget Sound (“A synthesis of the coast-wide decline in survival of West Coast Chinook Salmon [Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmonidae],” by David Warren Welch,Aswea Dawn Porter,Erin Leanne Rechisky; first published 30 October 2020); NOAA Fisheries Science Center published a peer-reviewed paper in 2021 showing that if ocean temperatures continue to warm at their current rate, key Chinook populations will be extinct within 40 years (“Climate change threatens Chinook salmon throughout their lifecycle,” by Lisa Crozier, Brian Burke, Brandon Chasco, Daniel Widener, Richard Zabel; published February 18, 2021). 
5. May 2020 EPA Total Maximum Daily Load for Temperature

“Even if all the allocations in this TMDL are implemented and the temperature reductions envisioned are fully realized, it is unlikely that the numeric criteria portion of the WQS [Water Quality Standard] will be met at all times and all places. Sources outside the allocation structure of this TMDL contribute to warmer temperatures. These sources include increased air temperatures throughout the study area and upstream human activities in Idaho and Canada, resulting in Columbia and Snake River water temperatures that already exceed the numeric criteria portion of the WQS when those rivers enter the geographic area covered by this TMDL.” (Emphasis added)

Public Power Interests Should Be Heard in FCRPS Mediation Talks (Northwest RiverPartners, Vancouver, WA)

By Kurt Miller

I had a boss once tell me, “I like that you know when to raise your hand.” She appreciated I flagged the big issues for her and asked for help when needed. This is one of those issues.

Northwest RiverPartners is actively participating in the Federal Columbia River Power System litigation mediation talks. These talks are led by the Biden Administration’s White House Council on Environmental Quality and the overtly biased process to date has not been good.

Mediation Talks – Brief Background

In early 2021, plaintiff groups, led by the State of Oregon, filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking immediate injunctive relief against FCRPS operations.

This motion was in response to U.S. government studies, which concluded that planned FCRPS hydropower operations were aligned with the social, environmental, and economic well-being of the region. They also found these operations did not pose a threat to endangered salmon and steelhead populations.

Oregon’s motion for injunctive relief had potentially dire implications for the region’s grid reliability and ratepayer costs. Ultimately, Oregon and other plaintiff groups are trying to force the beneficiaries of the FCRPS to acquiesce to some plaintiffs’ long-held desire to remove dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers.

On Oct. 21, 2021, plaintiff groups agreed to a pause in litigation through July 31, 2021. That stay was extended though last-minute negotiations on Aug. 4, 2022, and is set to expire by Aug. 31, 2023.

A One-Sided Negotiation

The concerning part—the part I’m raising my hand about—is CEQ’s approach to the negotiation process. Northwest RiverPartners has legal standing as an intervener defendant. That standing gives us a right to be included in mediation negotiations.

However, despite this legal standing, Northwest RiverPartners and other defendant intervener groups representing millions of ratepayers and residents throughout the West have not been granted a meaningful say in the negotiations from their outset, which I’ll demonstrate below.

Unfortunately, due to confidentiality requirements, I am only allowed to share information from publicly available documents, but even within these limited parameters, one can see a very troubling pattern emerge.

The Three-Legged Stool

In a highly orchestrated effort, CEQ has constructed a proverbial three-legged stool that is being used as a barrier to prevent meaningful input from public power interests.

Leg 1: NOAA Report Reverses Decades of NOAA Science

On July 12, 2022, CEQ released a draft report entitled “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead” produced by NOAA Fisheries. The report was disappointing for numerous reasons. First, the report was co-written by two long-standing plaintiff groups in the ongoing litigation against the dams—the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe.

Second, the report inexplicably reverses decades of NOAA Fisheries’ own scientific research showing that breaching (i.e., removing) the lower Snake River dams may provide minimal benefits to salmon.

Third, NOAA Fisheries would only allow feedback on its draft report from states and tribes, purposely leaving out the public and organizations like Northwest RiverPartners and the millions of public power customers we represent.

Unsurprisingly, when the final report was released on Sept. 30, 2022, its conclusions remained largely intact. Most importantly, the report calls breaching the lower Snake River dams a “centerpiece action” for achieving “healthy and harvestable” levels of salmon.

The non-scientific underpinnings of these recommendations are exposed in the report when NOAA and their plaintiff co-authors admit to a “lack of precise measures or quantitative estimates of the magnitude of biological benefit expected from large-scale management actions,” and that, “not all restoration actions will achieve their intended benefit.”

Leg 2: New Unscientific Salmon Recovery Standard Adopted

The Biden administration, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of the Interior, released an announcement on Aug. 4, 2022. That announcement, like the draft NOAA report, adopted a new, non-scientific standard for salmon recovery in the region.

The announcement stated, “The Administration is committed to supporting development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels.” As noted above, the NOAA report translates this description into a new “healthy and harvestable” standard.

While having “harvestable” salmon populations is an admirable goal, the Biden administration’s statement shifted salmon recovery from a scientifically quantifiable goal that has been used as the legal standard for decades to one that is ill-defined, not scientifically based. The new standard also lies outside the scope of the legal proceedings the mitigation is addressing.

This change also provides cover for a shift from NOAA’s prior statements warning of the limited benefits of dam breaching for salmon. The new narrative is that dams must be breached because the administration has a new, higher standard for salmon recovery.

Leg 3: Stay Agreement Excludes Input from Public Power Groups

Also on Aug. 4, 2022, the U.S. government released Exhibit 2 of the extended stay agreement with the plaintiffs. Importantly, even though Northwest RiverPartners and other intervener defendants have legal standing in the case, we were purposely excluded from negotiating the terms of the stay.

Unsurprisingly, the terms of the Exhibit 2 commit the U.S. government to the following condition, “The Administration commits to exploring lower Snake River habitat restoration opportunities, including but not limited to migration corridor restoration through breaching the four lower Snake River dams.”

This stay stipulation runs against the desire of a clear majority of the residents of the Greater Pacific Northwest and could only have been arrived at in closed-door negotiations.

While Northwest RiverPartners remains committed to salmon recovery and meaningful dialogue with people and organizations with diverse views, we are quickly losing faith in this CEQ-led process.

We know from independent analyses that dam removal will raise rates, cost ratepayers billions of dollars, and set us back years in our effort to decarbonize our economy. While the administration officials have also committed to ensuring the existing hydropower system can still function in “delivering affordable and reliable clean power,” every action taken in the CEQ-led mediation has been at odds with achieving that objective in the Pacific Northwest. 

Clearly, it’s time to raise our hand. We believe we can recover salmon while preserving the hydropower system’s many needed benefits. Those benefits include clean, reliable, and affordable energy and critical infrastructure for agriculture, like irrigation and barging. If you believe as we do, please raise your hands with us.

Kurt Miller is the executive director of Northwest RiverPartners. He can be contacted at kurt@nwriverpartners.org.

Joint Statement by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau – Including Columbia River Treaty Priorities (White House, Washington, DC)

“…The United States and Canada will intensify their work over the coming months toward an agreement on a modernized treaty regime that will support a healthy and prosperous Columbia River Basin.  We will focus on flood risk management, power generation, and environmental benefits that are shared equitably by both countries and the Indigenous peoples and Tribal nations, communities, and stakeholders in this watershed.  The Columbia River is a vital shared resource that underpins many lives and industries on both sides of the border and the watershed requires our attention and prompt coordination…”

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/24/joint-statement-by-president-biden-and-prime-minister-trudeau/

Early 2023 Groundbreaking Planned for Trosper Rd/Capitol Blvd Intersection Project (City of Tumwater, WA)

Copied from the City of Tumwater Capitol Boulevard Corridor Project Update email

I-5, Trosper Road & Capitol Boulevard Intersection

Construction Begins in January 2023

Just after the first of the year, crews will break ground on the first, primary construction phase of the Capitol Boulevard Corridor Project – the I-5/Trosper/Capitol Reconfiguration Project. Though this construction will be particularly disruptive, the short-term pain will pay off by reducing current and future traffic congestion at this key intersection.

When completed, traffic delays will be reduced, pedestrian safety improved, and mobility deficiencies addressed along Trosper Road SW from the I-5 overpass to Capitol Boulevard SW and the I-5 Northbound on and off ramps.

What Is Going to Happen?

Demolition of three buildings, one located at 5301 Capitol Boulevard SW, and two located at 348 Lee Street SW, was completed in early 2022. The following steps include reconfiguring Trosper Road and Capitol Boulevard to accommodate three roundabouts and the construction of a new street, 6th Avenue SW from Lee Street SW to Trosper Road SW.

The first few months of 2023 will see utility work completed along Capitol Boulevard north and south of Trosper Road. Next, crews will reconfigure the intersection of Trosper Road SW and Capitol Boulevard SW to accommodate three roundabouts Work will entail tearing up the road and sidewalks, repaving, and constructing a new street between Trosper Road and Lee Street.

Who Will This Impact?

If you own a business, work or live in the area, or visit there regularly for shopping or services, you will experience significant traffic impacts. During construction, one lane of traffic in each direction will remain open, and access to businesses will be maintained. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this construction process!

Project Background

Early planning studies identified Trosper Road SW and Capitol Boulevard SW as critical to the success of the overall corridor, and improvements to this intersection were prioritized as funding became available. More information about current and future Capitol Boulevard Corridor Improvements is available on our website.

Sign up for project updates to stay informed!

If you are interested in subscribing to the Capitol Boulevard Corridor Project Update, visit our online notification system and select “Capitol Corridor” on the list.

Questions?

Contact us at communications@ci.tumwater.wa.us 

Clark Public Utilities Ranked Highest in Segment for Customer Satisfaction by J.D. Power, 15 Years in a Row (Washington PUD Association, Olympia, WA)

(Vancouver, WA) -- For the 15th consecutive year, J.D. Power recognizes Clark Public Utilities as the highest-ranking utility in residential customer satisfaction among midsize electricity providers in the Western United States.

The J.D. Power 2022 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with residential electric utilities by examining six key factors, which cover all areas of utility operations: power quality and reliability; price; billing and payment; corporate citizenship; communications and customer care. Surveyed customers scored Clark Public Utilities highest in all six categories the study observed.

Clark Public Utilities’ overall score was 786. “It is a tremendous honor to be named number one among such an esteemed group of regional utilities,” said Nancy Barnes, President of the Clark Public Utilities Board of Commissioners. “But to do so for 15 consecutive years reflects this organization’s culture of excellence and exceeding our customers’ expectations of service, reliability, affordability and good stewardship.”

J.D. Power designs and finances the study, a standardized measure of satisfaction available for the electric residential utility industry. More than 102,000 residential electric utility customers throughout the U.S. responded online to the study. Based on these responses, the study compared 145 electric utility brands, collectively serving over 105 million households.

“Our employees worked hard to help customers through the many challenges and unexpected circumstances of the last year, and it’s gratifying to see them receive this recognition,” said Lena Wittler, Clark Public Utilities CEO and General Manager. “We’re eager to review the findings of this year’s study to discover even more ways to better serve our community.”

The West region covers Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. Midsize utilities in the report serve between 100,000 and 499,999 residential customers.

Pend Oreille PUD and Clark Public Utilities Sign Long-Term Hydropower Agreement (Pend Oreille PUD, Newport, WA)

Clark Public Utilities and the Pend Oreille Public Utility District have entered into a long-term power sales agreement that provides a steady supply of carbon-free renewable hydroelectricity for customers in one of the fastest-growing counties in Washington State.

Under the agreement, Pend Oreille PUD will sell all energy produced by the Box Canyon hydroelectric project to Clark Public Utilities from January 1, 2026, through Dec. 2041, with contract extensions available under mutual agreement.

The Clark Public Utilities Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 16-year power sales agreement on Tuesday, following unanimous approval by Pend Oreille PUD’s Board of Commissioners on Oct. 4, 2022.

The agreement reflects a long tradition of collaboration and cooperation among the state’s customer-owned public utility districts to deliver reliable, responsible power to the local communities served and is a critical piece of Clark Public Utilities’ strategy to meet state-mandated emissions reduction targets ahead of schedule.

Under the contract, Clark Public Utilities will purchase power generated from Pend Oreille’s Box Canyon Dam, which averages approximately 50 megawatts of generation annually. The utility will also pay the forecasted dam costs and debt service payments associated with the power plant modernization and the environmental mitigation modifications made by Pend Oreille PUD over the last decade.

“Clark Public Utilities has charted a path to exceed carbon-reduction targets ahead of state requirements, and securing this additional clean, renewable energy resource in partnership with Pend Oreille PUD is an important milestone in meeting these ambitious goals,” said Clark Public Utilities CEO and General Manager, Lena Wittler. “Public power utilities exist to benefit the customers and communities we serve, and this agreement will provide mutual benefits to both districts for many years.”

The contract secures a stable, long-term customer for Pend Oreille PUD, which, since 2019, has undertaken a multi-phase remarketing effort of its energy supply, both in anticipation of and following the closure of the Ponderay Newsprint Company, which represented about 70 percent of the utility’s historical load.

“This contract with Clark is a great deal for Pend Oreille PUD customers,” said Pend Oreille PUD General Manager Colin Willenbrock. “The agreement sets the PUD up for long-term financial stability, ensuring forecasted Box Canyon costs are paid by a creditworthy and trustworthy public power partner that is also willing to pay for the dam’s carbon-free attributes.”