Carbon-emission Free Hydro

Central Electric buys its wholesale electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration, which is responsible for marketing the electricity produced at 31 federally-operated hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and its major tributaries distributed around the Pacific Northwest. As a result, the electricity CEC provides its members is virtually carbon-emission free.  Specifically, the sources of our power generation mix is typically composed of:

  • 85% from large hydroelectric projects
  • 10.6% from the Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear power plant in south-central Washington
  • 2.74% from non-specific power purchases by BPA, which includes some amount of emission-free renewable resources
  • 1.57% from wind and other renewable sources

These number do fluctuate slightly from year to year, most often due to changes in snowpack levels and the resulting streamflows as the snow melts, runs to the rivers and passes through the hydroelectric generating turbines.

In an era when members of the public are increasingly concerned over the emissions associated with electric power production, Central Electric Co-op members are fortunate to have some of the greenest energy in the United States.