ISSUE: Restoring rivers degraded by hydropower operations
GOAL: Preserve language in Federal Power Act. Provide guidance for individual state restructuring plans
Current Status: In 1992, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act which permitted restructuring of the electric utility industry. Up until passage of the act, electric utilities had a regulated monopoly on a designated territory of electric consumers. Public utility commissions within individual states set electric rates for these monopolies to protect consumers and provide a guaranteed rate of return for the utility. Passage of the act allowed each state to individually restructure utility regulation in a competitive marketplace. The electric utility industry’s public relations campaign claims deregulation will lower consumer electric rates. In reality, there has been such a tremendous increase in electric utility rates that Congress has recently delegated a task force to investigate for potential price fixing. Analysts predict that over the next five years the utility industry stands to make their largest profits in history.
Electricity costs aside, deregulation marks an uncertain future for America’s rivers and consequently whitewater boating opportunities. Because utilities are no longer guaranteed a rate of return the profit generated from a 30 year of hydropower license is uncertain. As a result, hydro operators are reluctant to commit funds to mitigate project impacts on the river resource. This attitude ultimately manifests itself in decreased flows for river restoration and whitewater.
The hydropower industry has aggressively pushed a legislative agenda designed to “reform” the licensing process for hydropower projects. In reality the legislative reform strips much of the regulatory authority from the resource agencies charged with protecting the river environment. The utility industry claims the reforms are necessary to reduce costs associated with licensing projects. In contrast, the Hydropower Reform Coalition of which American Whitewater is a founding member, sees agency and public involvement as a critical component of the environmental review process. The costs associated with relicensing are minor relative to the profits from hydro generation on the public’s rivers. American Whitewater and the HRC are working hard to prevent the hydro industry from weakening the Federal Power Act.
Precedent: The hydropower industry has been spearheading electric restructuring. This new market place must not change the industry’s obligation to mitigate impacts caused by project operations. Legislative changes to the licensing process are not necessary. Increased funding for regulatory agencies and enhanced communication will do far more to expedite the relicensing process.