Klamath Water Users Association

          2455 Patterson Street, Suite 3       

            Klamath Falls , Oregon 97603

            (541)-883-6100   FAX (541)-883-8893  

            kwua@cvcwireless.net

            www.kwua.org

Power Resources Program of Klamath River Basin Agreement

Prepared by KWUA

Summary

            Stabilizing power costs is an important component of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and is closely related to the Water Resources Program.  This document provides background and a program summary as related to the Klamath Reclamation Project.

Background

            The Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Reclamation Project is unique and has had a longstanding relationship with PacifiCorp’s Hydroelectric Project.  Original plans for the Klamath Reclamation Project contemplated the development of power by the Bureau of Reclamation for use in the Klamath Reclamation Project.  In 1917, PacifiCorp’s predecessor entered an agreement by which it constructed Link River Dam and agreed to sell power at low cost to irrigators and Reclamation in lieu of Reclamation developing power on the river.  In the 1950s, when PacifiCorp’s predecessor sought a license for PacifiCorp’s hydroelectric project including the planned J.C. Boyle facility, Reclamation initially voiced objection that the license would preclude development of low-cost federal power to benefit the irrigation project. This concern was resolved through a license term requiring extension of the 1917 contract including its power terms, for at least the term of the FERC license.  The long relationship was reflected and codified in the Klamath River Basin Compact adopted enacted by California and Oregon, and ratified by Congress, in 1957, which provides that it is the objective of the states, in connection with the development of hydroelectric resources on the Klamath River “to secure…the lowest power rates which may be reasonable for irrigation and drainage pumping, including pumping from wells.”

            In the FERC relicensing process for PacifiCorp’s hydroelectric dams, Reclamation has proposed a license condition that would substantially continue the historic relationship for the Klamath Reclamation Project, by requiring the company to deliver power to the Klamath Reclamation Project based on the cost associated with providing power from PacifiCorp’s hydro dams specifically (the predecessor contract is based on cost of generating power at the dams). The condition is opposed by PacifiCorp and others and would preclude settlement.  Additionally, other mandatory license conditions would drive up the cost of generation considerably; Klamath Reclamation Project irrigators, in the settlement process, agreed with other parties that they would not pursue action that could diminish license conditions related to fish protection, and effectively agreed to allow the cost of generation to increase. 

            In other Reclamation projects, low costs “reserved” or “project use” power is made available for certain loads.  Also, many irrigators in the PacifiCorp Northwest have access to BPA power or similar alternatives through PUDs or similar entities. These types of arrangements were neither necessary nor pursued in the history of the Klamath Reclamation Project due to the long-standing relationship with the hydroelectric project.

            The plumbing of the Klamath Project is also unique; low cost power is a part of its infrastructure.  A significant portion of the power goes to recirculate water (achieving efficiencies), provide water to national wildlife refuges, to pump water back into the Klamath River for use by fish, and to operate pressurized sprinkler systems that use less water than flood irrigation.  These pumping operations are essential for water efficiency and successful pursuit of the Water Resources Program.  Already, Klamath Reclamation Project irrigators faced with potentially considerable power cost increases have considered or in some cases undertaken changes in practices that reduce historic water efficiencies.

Program Summary

            The Power Resources Program as related to the Klamath Reclamation Project consists of three elements.

            First, for the short-term, funding is provided to stabilize total power costs as other components of the program are brought on line.  The Parties have supported the Interim Power Sustainability program as part of the KRBA with funding estimated at $7.69 million for 2008-2010.  This program would also provide benefits for irrigation water users outside the Klamath Reclamation Project.

            Second, “Project Use” power from the Columbia River system would be authorized by federal legislation for specified loads in the Klamath Reclamation Project, not including pumps owned by individuals to apply water to land unless the individual is required by contract with Reclamation to install the pump to take water from Klamath Reclamation Project facilities.  The program would reduce BPA power supplies by less than 0.01 percent. The KRBA also contemplates an agreement with PacifiCorp to deliver this power from substations within the Klamath Reclamation Project to the loads served.

            Third, funding would be provided for energy efficiency/conservation and renewable generation opportunities and investment.  The activities that would be expected include installation of efficiency measures, such as additional improvements in water pumping and piping efficiency, solar photovoltaic development and net metering programs, investment in renewable generation on a broader scale, and other practices.  Settlement parties, with considerable expert assistance provided by the State of Oregon and the Bureau of Reclamation, worked diligently to evaluate alternatives that would leverage expenditures through tax credits and available regulatory programs.  The program cost including engineering and planning costs is just over $34 million, over fiscal years 2010 through 2013.  The benefits and objectives of this program are designed to serve irrigation interests both inside and outside of the Klamath Reclamation Project in the Upper Klamath Basin .