Hydropower Is A Watershed Issue

It’s a puzzle, and it’s an economic crisis: Power from Columbia River dams seemingly has grown so expensive that utilities and industries are turning to other sources, such as natural-gas turbines. But dams buy no fuel. They harness gravity.

The region must be clear about what the problem is, or solutions will miss the mark.

WPPSS is the problem no one wants to talk about. The Washington Public Power Supply System set out to build five nuclear plants, but after a scandalous series of errors only one was completed. The Bonneville Power Administration (which also sells power from the dams) must repay some of the debt incurred to build the abandoned WPPSS plants. Like it or not, and no one does, it is a legal obligation. BPA owes $520 million a year to retire WPPSS debts.

That is a huge reason BPA’s power, mostly from hydro sources, seems expensive.

There are two more reasons:

Being a federal agency that had limited competition as a power provider, BPA lacked incentive to operate efficiently - until recently.

The Columbia’s wild salmon runs are collapsing. Traditional remedies - hatcheries and fish barging - aren’t working. This forces an urgent search for better ways to keep the runs alive. BPA and its customers must pay the tab, approaching $500 million a year.

Private utilities, offering low rates in a changing market, have begun luring away BPA’s customers. So BPA has embarked on a crash program to cut costs. In 18 months it has slashed annual outlays by $500 million. More savings are expected and policy changes, such as a move to end irrigation subsidies or sell power outside the region, could bring additional improvements to its bottom line.

Meanwhile, when BPA lets a customer go, customers who remain must shoulder more of the obligation to repay the WPPSS debt and restore salmon runs. As WPPSS and salmon costs weigh more heavily, so does the pressure to jump ship.

It isn’t right for BPA customers to escape the WPPSS debt, incurred for their benefit and in some cases as a result of their own miscalculations.

Salmon restoration, likewise, is a responsibility of all who’ve benefited from the dams.

What’s the answer?

Stop BPA’s customers from leaving? Then, its incentive to cut costs might disappear.

Give up on salmon, as some in Congress propose? No again. Salmon runs are an innocent victim and a regional treasure.

Slap exit fees on BPA’s departing customers, or continue jacking up the electrical transmission charges that BPA levies on its competitors? Those possibilities have appeal, but they’re still a piecemeal approach.

The whole system needs a balanced restructuring, before it unravels. U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield, who’s trying to lead the way, ought to keep the pressure on to rein in all of the system’s costs, not just salmon costs. And, he must insist that regional responsibilities be shared broadly so the burdens remain bearable for all.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board