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Press release |
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June 27, 2001 Council OKs summer water spills at dams, but only if power system reliability is not jeopardizedPENDLETON, Oregon ? Water could be spilled at Columbia and Snake river dams this summer to help juvenile salmon and steelhead migrate to the ocean, but only if the reliability of the region?s electricity system is not jeopardized, the Northwest Power Planning Council recommended today in a meeting with the administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. Water that is spilled over dams cannot be used to generate power, and that is a critical consideration given the ongoing drought that has reduced Columbia River flows to about 53 percent of normal and reduced the region?s hydropower generating capacity by more than 4,000 megawatt. At the same time, summer spill at the dams has some benefit for juvenile fish that migrate in the river and are not collected for transportation in barges, particularly for Snake River fall chinook salmon, a threatened species, and for fall chinook that originate in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia, the Council acknowledged. Bonneville?s acting administrator, Steve Wright, asked the Council for guidance on summer spill in light of the power system reliability issue. The Council recommended that spills be provided if power system reliability is not further eroded, and if the lost energy can be made up with power purchases at costs that do not jeopardize Bonneville?s financial stability. "Based on our latest analysis of the power supply, the region appears to be in about the same position it was at the end of May ? right on the cusp of a reliable power system next winter if no water is spilled this summer," Council Chairman Larry Cassidy said. "However, wholesale power prices have dropped significantly in the last month, and so if replacement power for later this year can be purchased now for a reasonable price, spill should be provided this summer." Wright outlined several alternatives for providing summer spill, an issue the federal agencies plan to decide on Friday. He said, for example, that increasing the outflow from Dworshak Dam in Idaho could provide water for spilling at dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers without decreasing power system reliability. But Idaho Council members Jim Kempton and Judi Danielson objected to the idea. Wright also offered out-of-region power purchases as an option, but said there is some financial risk because the price is not known today. Council members responded that they were reluctant to get involved in day-to-day decision-making, which they see as the responsibility of dam operators. Additionally, many river-operating options for the summer currently are being negotiated by federal agencies, utilities, Indian tribes, state fish and wildlife agencies and others. For those reasons, the Council decided instead to amend a policy it adopted in April to state that "the summer operating plan should not decrease the currently forecast level of electrical reliability," and that "any additional water storage should be deployed to assure the best benefit to fish." According to the Council?s analysis, there is about a 17 percent probability of power deficits next winter if no water is stored this summer and fall. The analysis acknowledges that such predictions are inexact. For example, reduced demand for power or additional energy conservation could improve the outlook; spilling water, lower runoff and higher-than-expected demand for power could worsen the outlook. The Council?s latest analysis, an update of the analysis completed at the end of May, reflects recent changes in the regional power picture, including:
The result of these changes is a net addition to the region power supply of about 20 megawatt-months compared to the outlook at the end of May. The issue of whether to spill water at dams during spring and summer has biological implications as well as implications for the power supply. Spill is an effective means of moving juvenile salmon and steelhead past the Snake and Columbia river dams, particularly in the spring when the migration peaks, but spilled water can?t be used to generate electricity. Spring and summer spills to help juvenile salmon and steelhead migrate to the ocean are recommended in the 2000 Biological Opinion on hydropower operations issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on behalf of 12 Columbia and Snake river fish populations that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Only one of the 12 listed species, Snake River fall chinook, migrates to the ocean in the summer, but there are other important ? but not ESA-listed ? salmon and steelhead species that migrate in the summer. The Biological Opinion allows for spills to be reduced or eliminated if there is a power emergency because water that is spilled cannot be used to generate electricity. Federal dam managers, including the Bonneville Power Administration, declared a power emergency earlier this year, and water spills were drastically reduced from Biological Opinion levels in April and May. According a biological analysis of summer spill operations by the Council?s fish and wildlife staff, summer spill has little or no benefit for juvenile Snake River fall chinook because most of those fish are collected and transported downriver in barges, and released below Bonneville Dam. But spill has benefits for fall chinook that originate in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River just upstream of the Tri Cities because those fish only have one opportunity for collection, at McNary Dam. An analysis of summer spill options by the NMFS, discussed at today?s meeting, suggests that eliminating spill would reduce survival of non-listed salmon species that originate in rivers downstream of McNary Dam by up to 17 percent. Those fish cannot be collected for barging. The Council is a planning agency of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and was created by the Northwest Power Act of 1980. The Council is required to assure the region an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply while also protecting, mitigating and enhancing fish and wildlife, and related spawning grounds and habitat, of the Columbia River Basin that have been affected by hydroelectric dams. |
