October 31, 2001—The Pacific Northwest will have an adequate electricity supply through the winter of 2001-2002 thanks to actions taken this year to increase the supply and reduce demand for power, the Northwest Power Planning Council predicts.
According to the council’s analysis, there is less than a 1-percent probability of power deficits this winter—a vast improvement over the 12-percent probability predicted just last spring.
In the last year, power plants capable of generating more than 900 megawatts have been added to the region’s power supply, demand for power has been reduced by 20 percent, and hydroelectric storage reservoirs have filled to normal levels.
But the improved outlook comes at a cost to the region’s economy and environment, according to the latest installment of an ongoing Council analysis. For example:
- A large portion of the demand reduction was in industries responding to high power prices and the economic recession, and that translated to lost jobs.
- Temporary power generators, most of them burning diesel, helped boost the energy supply, but also polluted the air more than other types of power plants.
- Reduced water spills at Columbia and Snake River dams increased the amount of stored hydropower, but also took a toll on migrating salmon and steelhead by forcing those that could not be collected for barge transportation downriver to go through turbines.
For more information, contact the Northwest Power Planning Council.
