Low snowpack prompts power concerns for utilities
TACOMA, Wash. – Tacoma Power gets about 45 percent of its electricity from dams that it operates. And those dams generate hydro-electric power from water coming from the Olympic Mountains and the Cascades.
The balance of 55 percent comes from the Bonneville Power Administration. So far, it looks like Tacoma Power will be able to maintain that balance, and won’t have to buy even more power that could trigger a surcharge for the utility’s customers.
“Central Cascades? Snowpack is pretty much the lowest on record. We are expecting spring runoffs that are also some of the lowest on record,” said Todd Lloyd, Tacoma Power’s manager for resource operations and trading.
