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In the 1980’s, for example, litigat ion nearly brought power production at Glen Canyon Dam to a halt. <br />Eventually, this resulted in an approximately 14-year, $104 million st udy of the environmental effects <br />of Glen Canyon Dam operations. This amounted to more than twice the cost of the construction of <br />Flaming Gorge Dam in 1963. Subsequent restricti ons on reservoir operations required the release of <br />stored water when power usage and demand is lowest. As a result, Glen Canyon lost over 30% of its <br />capacity or enough power to serve over 250,000 homes (approximately 390 MW). <br /> Since these restrictions were placed on Glen Canyon, the Aspinall Unit reservoirs in Western <br />Colorado now provide up to 50% of the peaking power in the CRSP system. But an ongoing EIS <br />Glen Canyon Dam- courtesy of <br />process, recreational demands, and related flow re commendations for the listed fish species, could <br />the Bureau of Reclamation <br />place even more restraints on power. Environmen tal restrictions may call for holding water when <br />power demands are high and releasing water when demands are low. For example, b iological opinions (BOs) and records of decision <br />(RODs) on Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge have severely impacted hydropower production. And flow recommendations for the <br />Gunnison River could eliminate the ability to produc e this renewable energy when it is most needed. Fortunately, flow <br />recommendations are only one way of achiev ing environmental benefits. Others incl ude carefully-managed reservoir operations th at <br />protect hydropower generation. For example, in wet years, water at risk of spill could be bundled and released to move sedimen t and <br />improve habitat for native fish downstream. In this way, th e reservoirs can still store water and produce renewable hydropower . The <br />alternative, operating reservoirs in a wa y that mimics pre-dam conditions, would comp romise the purposes for which these federa l <br />treasures were constructed and would be devastating to the towns, communities, and Native American Nations that rely on them. <br /> When environmental restrictions, drought , or other restraints affect hydropow er production, Western must purchase <br />replacement power to meet its contractual obligations from t he energy market which may include nonrenewable resources. This <br />results in additional environmental impacts and higher power pr ices. In 1998, Western estima ted the cost of environmental <br />restrictions at $44 million per year. During the summer of 2000, when Glen Canyon reduced hydropower generation for humpback <br /> (nearly $100 <br />chub, the cost of replacement power wa s $32 million. From 1999 to 2004, Wester n spent nearly half a billion dollars <br />million per year) to purchase replacement po wer. These costs are borne by power cust omers through their power rates. The Bure au <br />and Western must carefully consider all of these issues when considering new operational regimes for CRSP reservoirs. They mus t <br />also abide by the purposes for which these reservoi rs were created and authorized some fifty years ago. <br />Courtesy of Western Area Power Administration <br /> 11 <br />