Re: “Trump preserved the Snake River dams. It will benefit the Northwest” (June 27, Opinion):
With regard to the op-ed, I consider there may be worth in taking a broader view of the area’s electrification. The power panorama is altering. The Snohomish County Public Utility District, the most important buyer of Bonneville Energy Administration, not too long ago altered its contracting with the company as a result of its incapacity to satisfy power demand for a January chilly climate occasion, as reported within the Everett Herald.
President Donald Trump’s govt order states that dam breaching would “get rid of over 3,000 megawatts of safe, dependable, and reasonably priced hydroelectric producing capability.”
In actuality, 3,000 megawatts is the height capability for the 4 dams, which they seldom produce, particularly when river flows are low throughout the chilly of winter and the warmth of summer time, instances after we most want power. In 2024, the median output for the 4 dams mixed was 784 megawatts.
We have to diversify our sources of power and reduce our reliance on hydropower. If in that course of we are able to facilitate salmon and steelhead reaching the most important spawning space within the continental U.S. how great that may be.
Don J. Miller, Arlington
