With regional temperatures spiking during this week’s heat wave, the demand for electricity follows. As people turn on fans, air conditioners and other cooling devices, power providers rely on hydropower because dams can bring turbines on quickly, to add immediate supply and provide grid stability.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates numerous hydroelectric facilities in the Pacific Northwest, producing dependable electricity that the Bonneville Power (BPA) markets at low cost to utility customers in the region, including public utility districts, before selling and sells to other utilities, as available. After serving the Pacific Northwest, BPA sells excess power to other utilities and western markets.

Dams in the Columbia River Basin produce more electricity than any other North American river, providing nearly 60 percent of the Northwest's electricity and almost 90 percent of its renewable energy. USACE dams generate power in megawatts (mw) at these locations:

• Portland area: Bonneville (1,340 mw), The Dalles (1,967 mw) and John Day (2,480 mw) dams
• Eugene and Salem, Ore. area: eight dams with 504 mw capacity
• Medford, Ore. area: Lost Creek Dam (60 mw)
• Spokane, Wash. area: Albeni Falls Dam (49 mw)
• Central Washington area: Chief Joseph Dam (2,613 mw)
• Tri-Cities, Washington area: McNary (1127 mw), Ice Harbor (687 mw), Lower Monumental (930 mw), Little Goose (930 mw) and Lower Granite (930 mw) dams
• Lewiston, Idaho: Dworshak Dam (459 mw)
• Northwestern Montana: Libby Dam (604 mw)

Nationally, USACE hydropower assets generate more than 70 billion kilowatt hours per year of reliable energy, enough to power 10 cities the size of Seattle. Additionally, the revenue generated by USACE hydropower is used to repay the original construction costs of the hydropower projects and to fund the operation, maintenance and modernization investments of the hydropower infrastructure.

USACE will recognize National Hydropower Day Aug. 24. For more than 140 years, its hydropower program has been providing the nation with resilient and reliable energy.

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