CEO’s Message – January 2024

LSRD Opposition Throws a Cheap Shot

In the ongoing fight to maintain the Lower Snake River Dam Hydropower System, public power took a sucker punch to the jaw recently, delivered by the U.S. Government, salmon advocacy groups, and the Six Sovereigns (a coalition of regional tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington).

The recent release of documents indicating that the Government had been engaging in secret meetings with salmon interest groups, and only these groups, merely served to hasten the finalization of an agreement between the Federal Government and the Six Sovereigns.

“…a closed-door process that began with a pro-dam breach agenda ended today with, not surprisingly, a blueprint for how to devalue, deplete, and ultimately demolish our region’s clean, renewable federal hydropower projects,” said Scott Simms, CEO & Executive Director of the Public Power Council (PPC).

As we have noted here before, dam breaching could mean rate increases of 25 to 50 percent, but even that is nearly impossible to predict. To estimate the cost of electricity when we don’t know where it would be coming from is very difficult, which is 1 of the many reasons that this clandestine agreement is so frustrating. Public power, the professionals who actually understand the needs of customers and what it takes to deliver safe, dependable electricity, were not invited to the table.

The agreement also lacks any roadmap toward meeting the Federal Government’s own clean energy mandates, nor does it include any indication of a replacement for hydropower, only that money will be made available to develop alternative energy sources – and that the money will go to…surprise, surprise…the Six Sovereigns.

If I sound angry, it’s because I am. For decades, fish recovery has been a heated but healthy debate, with ebbs and flows that favored both sides. It was understood that the debate would continue and that innovation would provide better and better solutions, which it has. Nobody is anti-fish. Nobody wants to lose our salmon runs. For many years, public power ratepayers have been paying for the very successful salmon recovery programs that have resulted in historic fish returns in recent years.

I am angry because this was a very undemocratic, not to mention unethical, process. It silenced the people who will be most impacted – you. This is a fish-only proposal, with no guarantee of success, just a promise of higher energy costs and extended, increased reliance on fossil fuels.

But the fight is not over. Things are changing almost daily. Now that these secret meetings are no longer secret, we need to make our voices heard to the point where your government has to listen. If you want to protect clean safe hydropower, thousands of jobs, and economic stability in our region, please go to Voice for Cooperative Power and sign up to make your voice heard and help us save the Lower Snake River dams.

We will continue to keep you informed as this latest chapter develops, and I promise you that I, and everyone here at Columbia REA, will be doing everything in our power to protect your rights as consumers, and to do the right thing for you, our members.

Best,
Scott Peters, CEO