News Release from Public Power Council
August 26th, 2022 12:28 PM

Downloadable file: PPC Full Release Murray/Dams

(PORTLAND, OR) August 26, 2022 -- On August 25, Washington Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee issued their final report focused on salmon recovery and the potential removal of the four Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs). 

As highlighted in an independent analysis conducted by Energy GPS for the Public Power Council (PPC), the LSRDs are vital for system reliability and breaching these clean, low-cost resources would put the Northwest at risk of frequent and sustained blackouts during increasing “extreme events.” Other recent studies (Energy GPS for Northwest RiverPartners and E3 for the Bonneville Power Administration) have concluded that regional climate goals cannot be met without the carbon-free LSRDs, that rapid replacement of these resources is technically infeasible, and that severe rate shock would result from removing these low-cost resources. (Please see attached pdf for study links, direct quotes and more details)…

Contact Info:
Scott Simms, 503-595-9770