Rural NV counties especially vulnerable to Hoover Dam hydropower decline

by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current Hoover Dam is the largest hydropower producer on the Colorado River, but as reservoirs continue to drop toward dire levels, rural communities in Nevada that depend on the dam’s low-cost electricity are facing a precipice. Lake Mead is projected to drop below the critical threshold of 1,035 feet above sea level within the next 12 months, at which point the hydropower generating capacity at Hoover Dam would be cut from 1,302 megawatts to just 382 – a massive 70% decline. Once Lake Mead falls below that threshold, a dozen older turbines that were not designed to operate at low reservoir levels would be shut down, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Only five newer turbines installed a decade ago would continue to generate power. Nevada receives a little under one-fourth of all hydropower generated at Hoover Dam, but for some rural electric providers that share is much more. Nevada’s Lincoln County Power District — which serves more than 5,000 residential, business, and public customers in communities such as Panaca, Caliente, and the county seat of Pioche — gets 70% of its electricity from Hoover Dam. If projections hold, the power district’s share of the dam’s hydropower will be reduced to 30% by 2027. The sudden loss of more than half the power district’s Hoover Dam delivery will force the utility company to buy market-rate electricity, which tends to be more expensive and less flexible. Hydropower is not only cost effective, but also a flexible power source that can be easily ramped up and down to meet daily and seasonal energy needs. That flexibility can keep grid operations stable and electricity more affordable. “We’re working to try to alleviate any rate shock to our customers, but for 90 years the customers at Lincoln County Power have relied on cheap hydropower, and unfortunately that’s not the case anymore,” said Dane Bradfield, the general manager of Lincoln County Power District, a not-for-profit utility provider. When Lake Mead hit a record low of 1,040 feet above sea level in July 2022, Lincoln County Power had to increase electricity rates for two years due to higher power costs. “We did have to go buy some additional power at a very expensive price, and so our rates had to go up,” Bradfield said. This time, Lincoln County Power is choosing to purchase about 80% of its forecasted needs from alternative sources ahead of time in hopes of avoiding even higher costs when Lake Mead drops below the critical threshold in the next year. “This is the new world that we live in,” Bradfield said. Lincoln County Power is also working on long-term solutions by acquiring more solar power resources, including a proposed $3.5 million two-megawatt solar generation facility which is expected to move into construction within 12-18 months. The power company is relying on $1.75 million in earmarked federal funding pushed by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and administered by the Department of Energy. “For a small utility like us, it’s very difficult to invest the amount of money needed to build other types of generation, such as fossil fuels, or geothermal. Solar is one thing that you can build in a small amount and make it work for you,” Bradfield said. The consequences of a faltering hydropower system isn’t limited to one county, and didn’t start overnight. Lisa Levine, the executive director of the Nevada Rural Electric Association, said several of her members have not received 100% of their Hoover Dam deliveries “for a very long time.” “My members are being innovative to a problem that they didn’t create and they’re having to figure out solutions on their own,” Levine said. “There’s no waiting anymore.” The Overton Power District — a not-for-profit utility that serves about 19,000 customers across Mesquite, Bunkerville, Logandale, and Overton in Clark County— has historically received about a quarter of its electricity from Hoover Dam. Last year, the power district saw a 15% decrease in their Hoover Dam delivery, which ultimately more than doubled the district’s power costs. “Everything that we don’t get from Hoover has to be bought from our market contract at a far higher rate,” said MeLisa Garcia, the general manager and CEO of Overton Power District. “The second half of this year is going to be even worse than what we anticipated.” One of Garcia’s biggest concerns is how the loss of reliable hydropower will impact their ability to prioritize the use of cheap hydroelectric power during peak hours in order to keep rates low. “You don’t get to ramp those turbines up and down and produce more or less hydro at different times of day, because you just have to take what limited energy can flow through the dam,” Garcia said. “We’ve never been in that situation before. I’m not sure exactly how much we will get or what that cost will be to us.” The power district currently gets about 14% of their power from solar, but as drought becomes a larger issue for power generation Garcia said the utility provider is exploring how to add more solar to their portfolio. “What we’re seeing is that the cost of that solar is very comparable to some of our hydro contracts,” Garcia said. For a small utility provider like the Overton Power District building their own power generation facilities would require more capital than they can currently access, Garcia said. For now, the best defense is signing into long-term contracts to ensure the utility can pay set prices for as long as they can, said Garcia. “I don’t know that people truly connect how drought impacts hydropower, and the benefits hydropower brings to rural communities,” Garcia said. Power providers also face challenges when planning long-term energy infrastructure due to shifting federal priorities and support, said Levine. “There’s not a larger plan, which is somewhat disappointing,” Levine said. “Unfortunately, whoever decides that they support something, it polarizes it entirely. We saw that with solar.” Some mitigation and adaptation measures are underway federally, but those fixes will take time. The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dam, was recently authorized to invest $52 million in three wide-head turbines capable of operating at water levels as low as 950 feet, which would reduce the projected hydropower capacity loss to 58%. Without the turbine replacements hydropower would be cut by 70% due to low reservoir levels. Funding was established through the Help Hoover Dam Act sponsored by Cortez Masto in the Senate, and Rep. Susie Lee in the House. Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected].