Hoover Dam
Governors of California, Arizona and Nevada have agreed to a three-year water conservation plan aimed at protecting the drought-stricken Colorado River system.
WECC held a two-day webinar on the outlook for this summer, including Western wildfires and hydropower conditions in the Colorado and Columbia River basins.
The West's reliance on imports could prove problematic during summer heat waves or when hydroelectric generation dries up because of drought, WECC said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agreed that the nation’s hydropower is undervalued in power markets and under-incentivized in federal policymaking.
Western drought has caused historically low water levels at hydropower facilities, including Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam and PG&E's major reservoirs.
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