The Energy News Digest for June 26, 2024

The Northwest Public Power Association sponsors the Energy News Digest. 

The News Digest on Facebook and Twitter will bring breaking news throughout the week.

Subscribe to The Energy News Digest.

Items of Note from the Northwest Public Power Association

This Friday is the deadline for submitting NWPPA Excellence in Communications Award applications.

The Excellence in Communications Contest is an awards competition open to NWPPA utility and association members. Public power professionals are invited to submit the best content created by or on behalf of their utility or organization. All photo entries will automatically be entered into the People’s Choice Awards contest. Awards for both contests are presented each year at NWPPA’s Northwest Innovations in Communications Conference.

Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories

Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/chelan-douglas-and-grant-county-puds-sue-bonneville-power-and-u-s-army-corps-over/article_e1adc608-3297-11ef-bf11-57dbca5da919.html

WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_fc0d9670-3014-11ef-a04c-c777c41e883c.html

State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_635764d4-327a-11ef-85e6-4709791bce7a.html

WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c4596a64-3335-11ef-98b4-17aa10dee85d.html

WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls (Washington Standard)

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-lands-commissioner-wary-of-federal-plan-to-kill-thousands-of-owls/

News Highlights (See Stories Below)

1.    Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

2.    WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams

3.    Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) responds to President Biden’s 'Dam Breaching' Agenda

4.    Wildfire Threats Make Utility Companies Uninsurable in Northern California, Across West

5.    Hydropower Industry Seeks Navajo Support After Permits Rejected

6.    NV Energy Seeks to Prematurely Recover Costs of $4.2 Billion Greenlink Transmission Line

7.    Aging Coal Plants Are Increasingly Unreliable Due to Cycling Increases & Deferred Maintenance: NERC

8.    Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power but Doesn’t See Role as Investor

9.    State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project

10. Alaska: Angoon Celebrates Launch of Long-Awaited Hydroelectric Project

11. A Big Boost for a Climate Solution: Electricity Made from the Heat of the Earth

12. A Signature Biden Law Aimed to Boost Renewable Energy. It Also Helped a Solar Company Reap Billions

13. In Green Energy Boom, One Federal Agency Made the Yakama Nation an Offer They Had to Refuse

14. WA State: Snohomish County to Start ‘Kicking Gas’ in Push for All-Electric Homes

15. WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls

16. Have You Ever Sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to a Fish? Dozens of People Did on Saturday

17. The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects a Settlement in a Water Dispute Between New Mexico & Texas

18. WA State: Ecology Releases Final Environmental Review of Proposal to Rebuild Eightmile Lake Dam

19. WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices

20. WA to Distribute $72 Million from Carbon Market Auctions for Community Energy Projects

21. Whistleblower Lawsuit Against WSDOT, Washington Governor's Office to Move Forward

22. How Seattle Public Library's Cyberattack Impacts Patrons, Students

23. Taking A Closer Look at Artificial Intelligence’s Supposed Energy Apocalypse

24. Volkswagen's $5 Billion Investment in Rivian Boosts Electric Vehicle Maker's Shares

25. The U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Biden Administration in a Social Media Dispute with Conservative States

26. WA State: Everett Herald Journalists Stage One-Day Strike After Layoffs Announced

27. How Heat Pumps Can Turn Wasted Energy into Low-Carbon Whisky

28. At State Convention, Washington Democrats Narrowly Reject Proposal to Block Nuclear Power

29. What to Expect for Wildfire Season

30. Part of a Minnesota Home Has Plunged into the Blue Earth River as Deadly Midwest Flooding Threatens Nearby Rapidan Dam

31. Lots of Rumbling Under Mount St. Helens, But Scientists Say No Cause for Alarm

32. Guest Essay: Altering Use of Willamette River Basin Dams Would Save Money, Help Salmon

33. Podcast: Rich Glick on FERC Order 1920

34. Advertorial: Hydropower Is Ready to Step Up to the Plate Against Summer Heat

Word of the Day

Hippodrome \HIPP-uh-drome\ Noun - 1: an oval stadium for horse & chariot races in ancient Greece 2: an arena for equestrian performances.

“Harry the Horse” had grown tired of his waltz performance at the local circus. “I want to be the main act at the hippodrome, showcasing the cha-cha,” he neighed. The Hendersons simply laughed.

Energy & Utility Issues

1.      Chelan, Douglas, Grant County PUDs Sue Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps Over Columbia River Treaty Delays, Overpayment (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory) - The lawsuit, filed June 17, wants the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to declare that the BPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by unreasonably delaying action” on a petition from the Mid-Cs regarding the Columbia River Treaty, and that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/chelan-douglas-and-grant-county-puds-sue-bonneville-power-and-u-s-army-corps-over/article_e1adc608-3297-11ef-bf11-57dbca5da919.html

2.      WA Ecology, Feds Host Meetings on Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_fc0d9670-3014-11ef-a04c-c777c41e883c.html

3.      Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) responds to President Biden’s 'Dam Breaching' Agenda (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_2e883cc8-2e66-11ef-a8ca-7f396370fefc.html

4.      Wildfire Threats Make Utility Companies Uninsurable in Northern California, Across West (San Jose Mercury News, CA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/wildfire-threats-make-utilities-uninsurable-in-us-west/

5.      Hydropower Industry Seeks Navajo Support After Permits Rejected (Bloomberg News)

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/hydropower-industry-seeks-navajo-support-after-permits-rejected

6.      NV Energy Seeks to Prematurely Recover Costs of $4.2 Billion Greenlink Transmission Line (Nevada Current)

https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/06/20/nv-energy-seeks-to-prematurely-recover-costs-of-4-2-billion-transmission-line/

7.      Aging Coal Plants Are Increasingly Unreliable Due to Cycling Increases & Deferred Maintenance: NERC (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/coal-plant-forced-outages-rise-increasingly-unreliable-NERC/719488/

8.      Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power but Doesn’t See Role as Investor (Yahoo! News)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-tech-wants-nuclear-power-201653832.html

Renewable Energy & Self Storage

9.      State Council Wrestles with WA Gov. Inslee’s Recommendations on Wind Farm Project (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_635764d4-327a-11ef-85e6-4709791bce7a.html

10.   Alaska: Angoon Celebrates Launch of Long-Awaited Hydroelectric Project (KTOO Radio, Juneau, AK)

https://www.ktoo.org/2024/06/20/angoon-celebrates-launch-of-long-awaited-hydroelectric-project/

11.   A Big Boost for a Climate Solution: Electricity Made from the Heat of the Earth (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/geothermal-energy-heat-renewable-power-climate-fervo-343efd2a284d975b98219e66a6043291

12.   A Signature Biden Law Aimed to Boost Renewable Energy. It Also Helped a Solar Company Reap Billions (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/biden-solar-inflation-reduction-act-dca914675cd0855004214d82aab5b10c

13.   In Green Energy Boom, One Federal Agency Made the Yakama Nation an Offer They Had to Refuse (High Country News)

https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-7/how-federal-rules-and-a-lack-of-protection-for-sacred-indigenous-sites-left-the-yakama-nation-with-an-impossible-choice/

Conservation & Efficiency

14.   WA State: Snohomish County to Start ‘Kicking Gas’ in Push for All-Electric Homes (Everett Herald, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-to-start-kicking-gas-in-push-for-all-electric-homes/

Fish & Wildlife

15.   WA Lands Commissioner Wary of Federal Plan to Kill Thousands of Owls (Washington Standard)

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-lands-commissioner-wary-of-federal-plan-to-kill-thousands-of-owls/

16.   Have You Ever Sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to a Fish? Dozens of People Did On Saturday (Here Is Oregon)

https://www.hereisoregon.com/events/2024/06/have-you-ever-sung-happy-birthday-to-a-fish-dozens-of-people-did-on-saturday.html

Water, Water, Anywhere?

17.   The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects a Settlement in a Water Dispute Between New Mexico & Texas (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/texas-new-mexico-colorado-rio-grande-a624e0bf8f9d0340166e0811c74efcbb

18.   WA State: Ecology Releases Final Environmental Review of Proposal to Rebuild Eightmile Lake Dam (WA Dept. Of Ecology)

https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2024-news-stories/june-21-eightmile-lake-dam-feis

Climate Change Sequestration Vault

19.   WA State: Initiative to Repeal Cap-And-Trade May Already Be Lowering Carbon Auction Prices (The Center Square)

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_c4596a64-3335-11ef-98b4-17aa10dee85d.html

20.   WA to Distribute $72 Million from Carbon Market Auctions for Community Energy Projects (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/wa-to-distribute-72-million-from-carbon-market-auctions-for-community-energy-projects/

21.   Whistleblower Lawsuit Against WSDOT, Washington Governor's Office to Move Forward (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/governor-office-wsdot-lose-bid-to-have-whistleblower-case-tossed-out/281-2e763a64-9fe7-4fb5-90b1-306257314b6a

Beam Me Up, Scotty - The Wizarding World of Technology & Cybersecurity

22.   How Seattle Public Library's Cyberattack Impacts Patrons, Students (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/news/2024/06/how-seattle-public-librarys-cyberattack-impacts-patrons-students

23.   Taking A Closer Look at Artificial Intelligence’s Supposed Energy Apocalypse (Ars Technica)

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/06/is-generative-ai-really-going-to-wreak-havoc-on-the-power-grid/

I Sing the Car Electric

24.   Volkswagen's $5 Billion Investment in Rivian Boosts Electric Vehicle Maker's Shares (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-invest-up-5-billion-rivian-part-tech-joint-venture-2024-06-25/

Public Relations, Marketing & Media

25.   The U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Biden Administration in a Social Media Dispute with Conservative States (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-rules-biden-administration-140359363.html

26.   WA State: Everett Herald Journalists Stage One-Day Strike After Layoffs Announced (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/everett/everett-herald-journalists-protest-layoffs/281-7880a4bd-ed86-4526-ac2b-36c7d93e5e6f

Barrel O’ Green Potpourri – Seething Stew of Science

27.   How Heat Pumps Can Turn Wasted Energy into Low-Carbon Whisky (Canary Media)

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-industry/how-heat-pumps-can-turn-wasted-energy-into-low-carbon-whisky

Management & Governance

28.   At State Convention, Washington Democrats Narrowly Reject Proposal to Block Nuclear Power (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/25/at-state-convention-washington-democrats-narrowly-/

Other Things to Know About Today

29.   What to Expect for Wildfire Season (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/what-expect-wildfire-season/DIFAKECZ5NALTNI5AC4MSUNMCM/

30.   Part of a Minnesota Home Has Plunged into the Blue Earth River as Deadly Midwest Flooding Threatens Nearby Rapidan Dam (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/part-minnesota-home-plunged-blue-154859241.html

31.   Lots of Rumbling Under Mount St. Helens, But Scientists Say No Cause for Alarm (KUOW Radio, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kuow.org/stories/lots-of-rumbling-under-mount-st-helens-but-scientists-say-no-cause-for-alarm

Soapbox Serenade – Vox Populi

32.   Guest Essay: Altering Use of Willamette River Basin Dams Would Save Money, Help Salmon (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/06/25/altering-use-of-willamette-river-basin-dams-would-save-money-help-salmon/

33.   Podcast: Rich Glick on FERC Order 1920 (Public Power Underground)

https://publicpowerunderground.substack.com/p/rich-glick-on-ferc-order-1920

34.   Advertorial: Hydropower Is Ready to Step Up to the Plate Against Summer Heat (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/07/hydropower-is-ready-to-step-up-to-the-plate-agains/

Alligators in the Sewer – Diversions

Super Fluffy 8-Year-Old Pekingese ‘Wild Thang’ Wins 2024 World's Ugliest Dog Contest

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/22/nx-s1-5016281/wild-thang-pekingese-winner-2024-world-ugliest-dog-contest

Not Just a Book: What Is a Gutenberg Bible? Why Is It Relevant 500 Years After Its Printing?

https://apnews.com/article/gutenberg-bibles-morgan-library-scripture-2ff65c3cdbeda696c861fef5db8b18ee

Abe Lincoln Wax Sculpture Melts in Brutal DC Heat

https://www.yahoo.com/news/abe-lincoln-wax-replica-melts-144552806.html

Idaho’s David Rush Is Closing in on the Guinness World Records Throne

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2024/06/21/David-Rush-Guinness-World-Records-road-to-181-interview/8751718893537/

Song of the Day

The Beatles – Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJNndwGFJIM

Links & Paywall Advisory

Links in The Energy News Digest are for current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links.

Although I choose stories that are accessible without paying a subscription, individual experiences may vary. Media attribution includes information about possible paywall restrictions. Regularly clearing your browser’s history and cookie files may help you access some paywall sites.

NWPPA Excellence In Communications Awards

The Excellence In Communications Contest is an awards competition open to NWPPA utility and association members. Public power professionals are invited to submit the best content created by or on behalf of their utility or organization. All photo entries will automatically be entered into the People’s Choice Awards contest. Awards for both contests are presented each year at NWPPA’s Northwest Innovations in Communications Conference.

Submissions must be original materials published, produced, or distributed for the first time in 2023. Advertising materials entered into the competition must have been created specifically for the NWPPA member. Each communication piece can only be submitted into one category—communication pieces that are entered into more than one category will be disqualified.

All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, June 28, 2024. Late submissions will not be considered.

Entries are limited to one entry for the Annual Report category, and two entries for all other categories.

The entry fee is $35 per entry. NWPPA will invoice utilities for their entries in early July. Invoices must be paid in full by Aug. 20 for entries to be eligible to receive an award.

NEW THIS YEAR

There are a couple of exciting changes to this year’s contest.

1. We have added a new Video category!
2. Groups are now determined by the number of kilowatt-hours sold, rather than by number of customers.

More details about these changes are available in the EIC Call for Entries.

$30 Billion Wildfire Lawsuit Against PacifiCorp Could Prove Costly to Everyone (Northwest Public Power Association)

 Kurt Miller, Executive Director, Northwest Public Power Association

(Vancouver, WA) -- On April 29, one thousand wildfire victims filed new claims against PacifiCorp in an Oregon state court totaling $30 billion related to damages and emotional distress caused by 2020 wildfires that involved the utility’s equipment. According to Reuters, these lawsuits alone represent four times the maximum financial exposure PacifiCorp’s owner, Berkshire Hathaway, had anticipated.

While the sum may be greater than expected, Berkshire Hathaway’s famous leader, Warren Buffet now seems more prescient than ever in his February letter to investors. In his letter, Buffet cast doubt on the future of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) due to untold financial risks related to wildfires in the West. Simply put, Buffet wondered aloud whether investors will be willing to “send good money after bad,” and he emphatically stated that he is not. Buffet concluded that consumer-owned utilities might the only ones left standing as investors back away.

As someone who has worked for an IOU and for consumer-owned utilities (i.e., “public power”) I’m a huge advocate for the public power model. It removes the confusion of who the utility is beholden too—investors or the communities they serve. With public power utilities, the investors are the communities served.

That said, the financial risk associated with wildfires is bad for everyone. Over half of the 153 utilities my organization represents have 10,000 or fewer customers. They can’t afford even a small fraction of the potential liability PacifiCorp is facing.

Of course, you may say that utilities should take steps to avoid causing fires. We can all agree to that, and most, if not all, utilities are already taking steps. But some measures could be prohibitively costly. For instance, under-grounding power lines can be five to 10 times as high as providing traditional service connections, and that cost would be borne by customers. Meanwhile, many people have a hard time making ends meet as it is.

Even then, it is almost impossible to deliver electricity without some risk. Extreme weather, changing environmental conditions, and inadequate management of federal lands are often the true determinants of wildfire harm. A transmission line may provide the spark, but the fuel is what determines the extent of the damage.

None of this is to say that the hardships wildfire victims experience aren’t horrible or that if a utility is negligent that it should be immune to consequences. These losses are real and can be devastating. My father’s childhood home in Salem burned to the ground, and he often recounted how traumatizing it was to him and his family.

However, if Buffet’s prediction comes true and consumer-owned utilities are the only ones left standing, we’ll get to the point where we’re really just suing each other’s communities when a wildfire is sparked. Our only real crime will be that we needed electricity to power our homes in an era when climate change has made the entire Western US a tinderbox.

If we want to avoid such a future, we need to enact meaningful reforms to our fire management systems, including:

• Allowing utilities to perform corridor maintenance on federal lands
• Streamlining environmental reviews for wildfire prevention activities
• Reforming liability provisions
• Providing funding for efforts to identify and address major wildfire threats
• Requiring federal landowners to actively manage and mitigate forests identified as high-risk
• Partnering with states and tribes to work collaboratively on reducing fire risks

The benefit of many of these measures is that they will help reduce wildfire-related damages even when utility equipment isn’t involved. (Utility-involved wildfires represent less than 10% of all wildfire incidences.)

Addressing these challenges demands a concerted effort from local, state, and federal governments. Prioritizing these issues is imperative to safeguard communities and ensure the provision of essential services in the face of mounting environmental risks.

Public power is up to the task of meeting the urgent demands of our time. For over a century, community-owned utilities have done what others couldn’t or wouldn’t do, often with lower costs than their IOU counterparts. We stand ready to collaborate with community leaders, tribes, businesses, and policymakers to make meaningful change.

We’ve already lost too much due to uncontrolled wildfires. Let’s learn the lessons those fires taught us and apply them now, before it is too late.

News Release: Agreement Threatening Northwest Clean Power Moves Forward Despite Objections (Northwest RiverPartners)

Uncertainty for public utility customers remains a significant concern

February 9, 2024

(VANCOUVER, WA) - - The risks related to the future of Columbia River System Operations (CRSO) remain high as the US District Court of Oregon accepted an agreement negotiated in secret by the U.S. Government and anti-hydropower plaintiffs. Northwest RiverPartners (NWRP), which represents nearly 3 million electric utility ratepayers, continues to express concerns as the Court accepts the five-year stay despite opposition by utilities and other river users.

NWRP, along with all other intervenor defendants in the CRSO litigation, was excluded from negotiations producing the CRSO settlement. The exclusion of stakeholders means that millions of people in vulnerable communities across the region will now bear the brunt of the increased energy costs and uncertainty created by this agreement.

At a time when grid reliability, affordability, and climate change objectives are straining utilities across the country, the Northwest has relied heavily on its backbone of robust hydropower to meet expanding energy needs. In the wake of the settlement, community-owned utilities will face a much more challenging future, as the settlement introduces more chaos into the region’s energy sector.

“We have made repeated efforts to ensure that public power consumers across the Northwest were given meaningful representation over the last two years of negotiations. It is deeply troubling that with the continued pressures on energy costs and grid reliability, communities that will be most impacted by this agreement were left out of the conversation,” said Heather Stebbings, interim executive director of Northwest RiverPartners. “Ultimately, this will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and set us back on our region’s climate objectives while the biggest threats to salmon recovery remain unaddressed.”

To enhance salmon recovery, NWRP has identified and supported habitat improvements, research into ocean conditions and climate change impacts, predator control, investments in new technologies that support salmon, addressing blocked areas, and the Phase 2 Implementation Plan to reintroduce salmon in the upper Columbia River basin. NWRP remains committed to supporting science-based salmon recovery efforts that balance our region's recovery goals with the production of Northwest hydropower to support our clean energy future.

News Release: Secret Agreement Between U.S. Government & Anti-Hydro Plaintiff Groups Represents “Greatest Threat” for the Region (NW RiverPartners)

Proposed US Government Commitments undermines clean energy and climate goals, negatively impacts the region’s economy and food production, raises electricity rates on struggling families, fails to address climate-friendly transportation and threatens grid reliability

 

(VANCOUVER, WA) - - Earlier today, the US Government’s “Commitments in Support of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and in Partnership with the Six Sovereigns” (“USG Commitments”) was made public by members of the Northwest Congressional Delegation. The Six Sovereigns include the State of Oregon, the State of Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

 

Our joint press statement is in response to the public release of the USG Commitments. The USG Commitments spell out the terms of a proposed settlement over long-standing litigation surrounding the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) and the lower Snake River dams.

 

The USG Commitments are an outgrowth of a process that was supposed to support the collaborative development of “a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region.” This document fails to meaningfully address any of these requirements. Instead, it undermines the future of achieving clean energy mandates and potentially raises the rates of electricity customers across the region without addressing the true cause of salmon declines – the warming, acidifying ocean.

 

In a joint statement, the executive directors of Northwest RiverPartners, the Public Power Council, and the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association expressed extreme concern about the transparency of this process and the USG Commitments’ impacts on millions of Northwesterners, “Our organizations have repeatedly looked for ways to find common ground with the plaintiffs’ concerns during the mediation process, submitting numerous inputs, documents, and studies. Instead of working with all interests, the US Government took months to hold secret negotiations and refused to share any details with us, let alone allow our participation. It is not surprising, then, that this proposal turns its back on over three million electricity customers as well as the farming, transportation, navigation, and economic needs of the region. By purposely excluding our respective organizations from the negotiations, literally millions of Northwest residents were deprived of fair representation in this process.”

 

Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, said of the secret agreement, “These USG Commitments would be devastating to the millions of electricity customers across the region that depend on the affordability and reliability of hydropower. As written, it hands the keys to anti-hydro parties whose stated objective is to dismantle the entire system. The outcome would gut the region’s decarbonization efforts. Higher energy prices will hurt the same vulnerable groups negatively affected by climate change.”

 

Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of the Public Power Council, said, “PPC and its non-profit member utilities believe these USG Commitments pose the single greatest threat to the vitality of the region’s hydropower system we have ever faced. We are calling on the entire Northwest congressional delegation to stand up for the region’s electric grid and the communities dependent on clean, reliable hydropower.”

 

Neil Maunu, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, said, “We are extremely disappointed in the flawed process that led to these USG Commitments, which would eliminate shipping and river transportation in Idaho and eastern Washington and remove over 48,000 acres from food production. These USG Commitments threaten the livelihoods of farmers, ports, and barging operators and present river system safety concerns in a way we’ve never seen before.” 

 

The USG Commitments go well beyond creating a roadmap for breaching the lower Snake River dams, establishing a plan that could demolish the capabilities of the entire Federal Columbia River Power System. The document repeatedly requires the USG to consult and defer to plaintiff organizations without any requirement of engaging those reliant on the hydropower system and its many benefits. The USG Commitments notably exclude sideboards that would ensure the region’s clean energy mandates are reached before any actions are taken that would reduce the CO2-free generation provided by the dams. Further, the operational changes to the hydropower system are untested, leaving many questions about potential impacts. Contemplated additions of new “replacement resources” appear not to come close to the reliable performance features of clean, renewable hydro projects.      

 

These USG Commitments also fail to address the severe impacts of dam breaching on the region's ports, farmers, river users, and barging operators. Barging has remarkably low occurrences of injuries, fatalities, and spills, proving to be the safest cargo transportation method, surpassing rail and trucks. Barging stands out for its superior fuel efficiency and minimized emissions, underscoring the critical importance to this region and the fight against climate change. In addition, shifting commodity flows from barge to truck and rail – caused by the removal of navigation locks at the dams - will increase harmful emissions by over 1,251,000 tons per year. (FCS Group)  These harmful toxins are the equivalent of adding one large coal-fired power plant to the grid every two to three years.

 

The USG Commitments ignore scientific studies and rely solely on one unscientific NOAA policy document to justify spending billions of dollars. Climate change, especially the warming ocean, threatens salmon populations in rivers up and down the North American West Coast - whether or not dams are present. NOAA Fisheries’ own peer-reviewed study predicts Chinook salmon populations will approach extinction within the next four years if the ocean continues to warm at its current rate. The Northwest’s hydropower system is the greatest tool available to fight climate change. Destroying or diminishing the hydropower system to chase false “solutions” is a lose-lose proposition for both people and salmon.      

    

About Northwest RiverPartners

Northwest RiverPartners is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization. Members include community-owned utilities, ports, labor, agriculture, 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

    

About the Public Power Council

The Public Power Council, established in 1966, is an association representing over 100 consumer-owned electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest.  PPC’s mission is to preserve and protect the benefits of the Federal Columbia River Power System for consumer-owned utilities and is a forum to identify, discuss, and build consensus around energy and utility issues.  For more information, please visit us on the web at www.ppcpdx.org.       

 

About Pacific Northwest Waterways Association

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association is a non-profit, non-partisan trade association of ports, businesses, public agencies, farmers, and individuals who support navigation, energy, trade, and economic development throughout the region. Learn more at www.pnwa.net