This newsletter provides updates about the federal relicensing of the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. More information is available on the project website or by emailing the project team at scl_skagitrelicensing@seattle.gov.

Two extraordinary summers and a total of 18 months of intense research are complete! Thirty-three studies were completed in and around the Skagit River, and the Updated Study Report was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this March. This is another big milestone in the Skagit Hydroelectric Project relicensing process.

Seattle City Light staff and expert consultants, in collaboration with Tribes and agencies, conducted these studies to better understand and address environmental and other effects of the three-dam system. At the request of our partners, including Tribes and local, state and federal agencies, City Light nearly doubled the amount of research funding to $28 million.

Study findings will help inform many future decisions including operations, flow, environmental restoration projects, recreational opportunities and more. Here are just a few of the many interesting insights:

• Genetic studies – which help us better understand and manage fish, especially those that are endangered – identified a new, distinct sub-population of rainbow trout in the upper watershed above Ross Dam, which has likely been in existence for thousands of years.
• The research helped us create new models to balance flood risk management, water storage and the flows needed to protect healthy salmon downriver. 
• We developed a better understanding of the potential habitat that is available to support fish in the reservoirs.
• Recreation studies revealed what visitors are doing and learning about when they are near the project so that we can enhance their experience.

These studies will guide protection, mitigation and enhancement plans for the next several decades. Updating the science and the plans is crucial because the environment is always changing. Climate impacts are challenging and dynamic, and research and monitoring are essential to protecting the environment.

To read more, visit City Light's Powerlines blog about the Updated Study Report.

The next major milestone in the Skagit Hydroelectric Project relicensing process is the filing of the Final License Application (FLA). The document’s name, however, is a little confusing. While it is the final version of the license application document (the Draft License Application was filed in November 2022), it is not the final step in the relicensing process.

The FLA is important because it provides clear direction on how City Light intends to manage the project. Several years of research help inform the protection, mitigation and enhancement (PME) plans that will be required in the next license. Those plans are also developed with input and direction from dozens of partners.

The challenge is that while the FLA includes plans—literally thousands of pages of plans—there is still planning to be done and specifics to be worked out. Why is that? Because City Light is proposing to make significant changes in project operations. Because the watershed is ecologically fragile, we have a responsibility, and a commitment, to be extremely careful.

For example, it’s crucial that we focus on fish populations to support restoration and harvest. In collaboration with our partners, City Light is proposing to implement a fish passage program that includes passing salmon and other fish above the project as part of the next license. There are several different ways to implement fish passage at the project, and the feasibility of a particular fish passage method depends on numerous factors, including the type of fish being passed and river, reservoir, and habitat conditions. The dams are high and there is no road access for Ross Dam, so there are engineering and logistical challenges to solve as well. Recognizing this, the fish passage program will include a collaborative, science-based approach to implementation with additional studies and a pilot program (similar to the fish passage program currently being implemented at Grand Coulee dam).

The FLA will be filed by April 30, 2022 and posted to our website .

The Seattle Times’ Pacific Northwest Magazine did an informative, in-depth piece about the need to strengthen the grid to ensure a stable supply of electricity and the importance of using renewable energy as much as possible. While Seattle City Light generates much of its own electricity for customers, it is also part of the larger energy market. This is what makes it possible for City Light to buy additional electricity when it needs to meet demand, and sell excess electricity.

The need for coordinated planning and operation to meet changing and fluctuating energy needs is prompting Seattle City Light and other Western utilities to work together in new ways. The better the grid, and the more it is collectively optimized, the more renewable energy can be developed and shared—and the more we can reduce the use of fossil fuels and slow down climate change.

The article explains how the grid works, the importance of renewable energy, and the changes being considered by utilities. It also makes clear the importance of hydroelectric power to Seattle and, in fact, the whole region.  

A greener, stronger, multi-state grid doesn’t just help us adjust to climate change or stabilize our access to electricity. It’s also essential to environmental and energy justice.

“We have to be super-careful in this transition not to create more inequities,” (said Emeka Anyanwu, Seattle City Light’s innovation and resources officer). “If you move into a space where much of the asset investment is in rooftop solar, for example, or localized batteries, you run the risk of developing a tiered energy system — solar on the roof and a Tesla in the garage for some, and a disinvested energy grid for everybody else”.

The big grid, and big-grid solutions, he argues, is still the best way toward decarbonization — and energy justice.

Read the full article here.

City Light's Hydroelectric Resources

Learn more about the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project and other City Light hydroelectric resources.

Skagit Tours and Recreation

Explore the Skagit River and the beauty of the North Cascades.

Skagit Relicensing Project Resources Page

Learn more about the relicensing process, including the library of public documents.

OUR MISSION

Seattle City Light provides our customers with affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy services.

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