SMUD Agrees to River Dam Deal

An agreement to relicense the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's hydroelectric dam on the Upper American River was reached November 15 by a dozen state and federal agencies, environmental groups, and sports organizations, as well as Pacific Gas & Electric and the muni. SMUD filed what it characterized as an "extraordinary" request with federal regulators the next morning to delay Federal Energy Regulatory Commission deadlines to develop a "formal relicensing settlement agreement." The muni bumped up against a November 17 filing deadline. It requested an extension to February 2007. "The settling parties are in a complex procedural predicament," SMUD told FERC in its request seeking an extension of time. The parties "would prefer to devote their resources to amicably resolving these proceedings . . . which would greatly expedite these relicensing proceedings overall." The agreement would increase river flows below the 688 MW dam, as well as adding other recreational flows, according to Jim Shetler, SMUD assistant general manager for energy supply. After a protracted battle, SMUD agreed in late October to reenter negotiations over river water levels for the popular boating and recreational region (Circuit, Oct. 20, 2006). Project relicensing for a 50-year renewal began five years ago. In other SMUD news, the muni agreed to a deal with Avista to import 50 MW of renewable power - 48 MW from biomass and 2 MW from small hydro. "This gets us closer to the 20 percent renewables goal," said board member Susan Patterson. The contract calls for $6/MWh payments until 2008, at which time they rise to $9.50/MWh, she added. - J.A. Savage

Over 11K Stories!

| Independently Powered Energy News

SMUD Agrees to River Dam Deal

vdharadmin

Related Posts

Energy Commission Okays $24 M in Clean Energy Grants

Bills to Remove Barriers to California’s Clean Grid Goal Advance

SMUD Adds 100 MW of Geothermal to its Power Portfolio

FERC Gives States a Year's Transmission Siting Leeway