Tacoma Utility Opposes Tribe’s Turbine Plan

Tue., Feb. 21, 1995

Associated Press

Tacoma City Light says it will lose $350 million in hydroelectric power if the Skokomish Indian Tribe is allowed to install a turbine electricalgenerator powerhouse at the base of a Lake Cushman dam.

The 70-year-old dam is on the north fork of the Skokomish River above Hoodsport on Hood Canal. The Tacoma utility has been trying to renew its federal license for the dam, Cushman No. 2, and Cushman Dam No. 1, for more than 20 years.

The renewal is being considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The tribal proposal could upset the negotiations, said Steve Klein, City Light superintendent.

Allowing the tribe to use water impounded by the utility’s dam would cost Tacoma City Light $350 million in lost power over the next 30 years, a statement by the utility said.

The two dams provide nearly 10 percent of the electricity generated by Tacoma City Light.

The tribe recently applied for a federal license to install the generator at the base of the dam.

“The tribe filed (the application) to protect its interests,” said Victor Martino, a consultant and spokesman for the tribe.

The project isn’t economical for Tacoma City Light, “but it is for us,” Martino said.

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