In January, I wrote about the Columbia River System Operations litigation settlement proposal that would lead to breaching the lower Snake River dams. Four tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon are suing the federal government over the CRSO.
In 2023, the plaintiffs met behind closed doors to develop a settlement proposal with the primary objective of breaching the four LSRDs. The settlement proposal was leaked to the public in late December. The threat to the LSRDs and the renewable, lowcost and reliable electricity they provide to the region has never been greater.
Just a few weeks after the settlement proposal became public, the Pacific Northwest experienced a 20-year record cold snap.
The Bonneville Power Administration and the federal hydropower system were put to the test, experiencing record load January 12 through the 16—loads last seen decades ago when aluminum smelters were in full production across the Pacific Northwest.
Although we did not see freezing temperatures in Coos and Curry counties, our BPA power supply was on the edge of blackout.
Several factors piled up, stressing BPA’s ability to meet peak demand. Low water in the Columbia River limited generation from the Columbia River dams. As high pressure settled east of the Cascades, wind generation ebbed from more than 2,000 megawatts to near zero. A large natural gas storage facility in Washington had a total outage, limiting generation from gas plants. Transmission lines that import electricity into the region were maxed out and the DC intertie between Oregon and California was out of service for maintenance.
Amid these challenges, the LSRDs were a workhorse of the federal hydropower system. On average, the LSRDs provide 7% of BPA’s total hydropower production.
During this January cold snap, the LSRDs averaged 8% and peaked at 20% of total BPA hydro production.
Does it make sense to talk about breaching the LSRDs? Without them during this recent weather event, hundreds of thousands of people in the Northwest would have been without electricity during the coldest days of winter. There is no renewable power generation technology today that can match the performance of hydroelectric.
Breaching the LSRDs would be like firing a star player who just got named MVP. If we do it, we can expect to lose.