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<br />Joe - 4% of our power utilization right now is hydro. 4% ofthe kilowatt-hours in Colorado is
<br />hydro. Even if they were all out, there's surplus power. Bonneville, for example, is overflowing
<br />with power this year for whatever reason. They've got power to send us from now till forever.
<br />Unlike last year. So the concerns.. .the two major hydro facilities are these puppies, the names of
<br />which escape me not having. . . where it comes down during the day and goes back up at night, so
<br />they're. . .in essence, any water losses there are transmission losses and evaporation losses, and
<br />there really appears to be no concern, at either end, Tri-State, Excel, or Western, about a shortage
<br />of hydropower or if we lost it all, needing to replace it. Right now, they're not worried about a
<br />shortage, longer term, they're not worried about the ability to replace it.
<br />
<br />_- - That sounds pretty good to me. However, I remain somewhat skeptical, and I think its
<br />something worthwhile for your connittee to really.. .your task force to really follow. The other
<br />thing that was different from what you just said, was the back then it was about 15% of the grid
<br />that came from hydroelectric, the power in the grid came from hydroelectric, and now you've
<br />pointed out that its only 4%.
<br />
<br />Joe - The assumption is hydro right now, and that's _?_'
<br />
<br />( ahnost inaudible) - I guess sort of the challenge is, if you ran a scenario that's not
<br />atypical, and its not a drought like we're now in, I'm not making forecasts, if we were to run a hot
<br />summer, _? _ 5 degrees of heating _? _above normal, ...._?_
<br />
<br />Joe - We are told that we are.
<br />
<br />- Have you run through some of the scale of a hot dry summer with no hydro?
<br />
<br />Joe - Have we run such a scenario? No. A hot dry summer with no hydro, I suppose the ability
<br />exists somewhere to do that, but remember, we are part of the western grid, so...
<br />
<br />- It would be hot everywhere, probably, it wouldn't have just got Colorado....
<br />
<br />- What's... the grid hasn't got a very good record, you know.
<br />
<br />Joe - Well, last year, if you recall, Bonneville was very badly hurting. And this year they're
<br />apparently not.
<br />
<br />_ - That's a variable, not a constant. There's room for real skepticism, it seems to me, and we
<br />shouldn't have to be pushing that with you too hard, because that's your job to work at that. You
<br />come back and convince us it's different, and we don't have any problems, that's good news.
<br />
<br />Joe - Do you want to make some connents?
<br />
<br />Dave Merrit - Dave Merrit, Colorado River District. And we have had very good success working
<br />with Excel Energy on Shoshone, there were problems at Shoshone, putting a senior right on,
<br />would actually seriously impact the water supply and storage in western Colorado during this veryobrief turnoff season that we have, they voluntarily reduced that call, and cut back their own output
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