NRECA: DOE Study Another Dangerous Step Towards Breaching Lower Snake River Dams

ARLINGTON, Va. - National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement in response to a DOE announcement that the agency would launch a study to explore how to "replace the power and services provided by the four Lower Snake River Dams."

"This is yet another step down the dangerous path towards dam breaching, which would jeopardize reliable electricity for millions of Americans in the Pacific Northwest," Matheson said. "Not only does this expose a severe lack of understanding about the importance of keeping the lights on, it also reveals a misplaced desire to undermine our nation's essential portfolio of carbon-free hydroelectric resources without considering the cost. Families and businesses in the pacific northwest deserve better from their government. The Lower Snake River Dams produce enough electricity to power 2.4 million homes and are essential to keeping the lights on - especially as demand for electricity skyrockets across the nation."

Earlier this year, Matheson testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee against breaching the dams. Click here to view highlights from that testimony.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation's landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $15 billion annually in their communities.

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