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The Northwest's Hydroelectric Heritage: Prologue To The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning And Conservation Act, Michael C. Blumm

Washington Law Review

Today's electric power system has six principal characteristics. First, unlike systems in most other regions of the country, the Pacific Northwest's system is primarily grounded on water power, although during the past decade most new generating facilities have been coal or nuclear power plants. Second, the costs of electricity have escalated rapidly in recent years, a direct result of the new higher cost thermal plants, some of which have been stillborn. Third, although the Pacific Northwest utility industry is remarkably diverse, the more than one hundred public and private utilities that serve the region are interconnected physically by a transmission …