Outage Map
When a Court Decision Harms Fish & Hurts Your Pocketbook
You most likely don’t think about the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers when you flip on a light switch. Yet these federal hydropower facilities quietly provide the affordable, reliable, carbon-free electricity that powers your homes, farms, schools, and businesses.
That is why recent changes to the operations of these dams deserve your attention.
This spring, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the highest spill levels ever implemented at several dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Spills occur when water goes over the dams and bypasses the turbines that generate electricity.
The injunction stems from litigation brought by several parties, including the state of Oregon, which argued for expanded spill operations to benefit juvenile salmon.
The results are raising serious concerns.
Within weeks of implementing the court-ordered spill levels, adult Chinook salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean experienced significant delays at John Day Dam on the Columbia River and Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River. At John Day, daily adult Chinook passage fell dramatically before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers temporarily reduced spill for 3 days. Adult salmon counts rebounded almost immediately.
2 separate migration-delay events occurring within days of 1 another—under an operational strategy that experts repeatedly warned had never been tested—should concern everyone who cares about salmon recovery.
The consequences extend beyond fish.
Central Electric Cooperative, a not-for-profit, member-owned utility, receives nearly all its wholesale electricity from Bonneville Power Administration, which markets power generated by these federal dams. When BPA’s costs increase due to operational changes ordered through litigation, those costs ultimately are passed on to you.
A BPA spokesperson was recently quoted as saying BPA will “need a $125,000,000 surcharge per year over the next 2 years to fully recover the costs of the order within the current 3-year rate period. The $125,000,000 roughly comports to a 6% to 7% increase in average rates.”
This should not be an either-or choice.
We believe healthy salmon runs and affordable, reliable electricity can—and must— coexist. The Northwest has invested billions of dollars over several decades to improve fish habitat, modernize fish passage and enhance salmon recovery. Decisions that affect salmon and the region’s electric system should be based on proven science, measurable results and thoughtful collaboration—not untested operational experiments imposed through the courts.
As electricity demand continues to grow across the Pacific Northwest, reliable hydropower has never been more important. These dams provide affordable, carbon-free electricity while strengthening grid reliability during periods of peak demand and extreme weather.
Our members, who pay the electric bills, deserve a voice in decisions that could increase costs and affect the reliability of our region’s power supply.
To learn more, visit the Protect Hydro Power website. To make your voice heard, visit the Voices for Cooperative Power website.
President and CEO Brad Wilson