WSP05164 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

COLORADO RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT STUDY: FINAL REPORT ISSUES INVOLVING HYDROPOWER PRICES/MARKETING/REVENUES BILL PERSONS AZ GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT PHOENIX, AZ This issue seems to be one of the most important ODes in the coming years. Clearly my experience with Glen Canyon Dam and the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies may bias my outlook somewhat. Potential privatization of WAPA may make it more difficult to move toward what we are calling Ecosystem Management, including the con- cept of Adaptive Management of the resources. REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING FARMINGTON, NM Shouldn't we be paying off projects that we already have before starting new ones? REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING ROCK SPRINGS, WY The reference to the 2007 repayment, implication is tliat the dam will be privatized once it is repayed. Additional revenue should go to stakeholders, or to salinity control. REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING SALT LAKE CITY, UT There will always be inefficiencies because of the hydro- logic cycle. Systems were based on certain engineering realities, and you can't change that. Can't really change infrastructure without a lot of money. Can't artificially alter prices to fund other programs. important not to forget that when looking at issue of power rates and revenues, you can get to a point where you shoot yourself in the foot. What happens is hydropower becomes a non-vital resource and people find other power sources. Then the cash register is gone that funds lots of programs, Read North West Power Planning Act, with salmon recovery costs, lots of power customers are going to other sources. Basic issue is what are the changes you want to make and how do you accomplish/pay for that. Revenue reappor- tionment is just one way to do that. Need to look at all ways to pay for what you want to do. We can always sell the power, no matter what the cost. The question is do we want to keep the power available in the upper basin for upper basin economic development? Restructuring of power entities is an issue. Take a look at reallocation of project costs based on changing uses and benefits. REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING DENVER, CO Privatization is a major issue. Sale not only of power but of water facilities, Colorado River will probably be last place there will be transfer out of federal hands. But itls coming somewhere. Discussion should not be only of power. Uncertainty is enough that it needs to be discussed. Problem in Glen Canyon was abruptness of the change. There needs to be time to adjust if there are going to be changes of use to minimize the impacts. Lots of dollars involved in hydroelectric generation. Hydro is the best peaking power opportunity we have and it's being eliminated. This power is becoming a baseload power source. We have to find replacements for that and we're now paying as much or more for less of the resource. That's a trend. The future is in gas and coal. Deregulation of utilities in California - no one knows what's going on, People are using the principles of the breakup of the phone, etc, industry, and they're not the same. There are many uncertainties. Usage aspect; if there is continued downward trend in peaking resource, what do we replace it with? Money for programs traditionally from power. Fed money is going away, how do we pay the bill to recover endan- gered species? As costs continue to increase for power, implications are that power users will buy somewhere else and the projects will lose a large portion of repayment. Ties into reduction of federal dollars to fund programs, Implications of using power money to fund resource pro- tection programs. Electric industry has always been cost based. It's not subsi- dized, in fact it subsidizes 90% of the irrigation. Perception of subsidy in power rates is not true. It occurs in irrigation. TrE;nd toward storing less water in reservoirs and the impacts to hydropower. R~GIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING O~TAR10, CA Sillce we're discussing contracts, bow does that play against deregulation taking place in CA market. How might that impact Hoover? Impacts of having to replace power resources lost due to reoperation from Grand Canyon Protection Act. Is$ue is what are the principles that underlie any privatiza- tidm effort of the power marketing administrations. Should t~ere be preferences, competition, etc. Even if it stays in hands of the federal government, these should be addressed, should status quo remain, or should it change. KENT TURNER L'AKE MEAD NRA BOULDER CITY, NV No specific comment. REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER MEETING ~T. GEORGE, UTAH Blood control is not listed.