Hoover Dam is the Colorado River’s largest hydroelectric power plant, but rural Nevada communities that rely on the dam’s low-cost power are facing a cliff as water levels in the reservoir continue to drop toward disastrous levels.
Lake Mead is projected to fall below a critical threshold of 1,035 feet above sea level within the next 12 months, at which point Hoover Dam’s hydroelectric capacity will be reduced from 1,302 megawatts to just 382 megawatts, a significant 70% reduction.
When Lake Mead’s water level falls below that threshold, more than a dozen older turbines not designed to operate at low storage levels will be shut down, the Bureau of Reclamation said. Only five new turbines installed 10 years ago continue to produce electricity.
Nevada receives just under a quarter of all hydroelectric power produced by Hoover Dam, but some local utilities receive much more.
Nevada’s Lincoln County Power District, which serves more than 5,000 residential, business and public customers in areas including Panaca, Caliente and the county seat of Pioche, derives 70 percent of its electricity from the Hoover Dam.
If this prediction is correct, the district’s share of the dam’s hydropower generation will fall to 30% by 2027. If a power district suddenly loses more than half of its Hoover Dam power supply, utilities are forced to buy market-rate power, which tends to be more expensive and less flexible.
Hydropower is not only cost-effective, but also a flexible power source that can be easily scaled up and down to meet daily and seasonal energy needs. This flexibility can help stabilize grid operations and keep power more affordable.
“While we work to reduce rate shocks for our customers, Lincoln County Power customers have relied on cheap hydropower for 90 years, and unfortunately that is no longer the case,” said Dane Bradfield, general manager of the nonprofit utility Lincoln County Power District.
When Lake Mead hit a record low of 1,040 feet above sea level in July 2022, the Lincoln County Power Company was forced to raise electricity rates for two years due to rising power costs.
“We had to increase our rates because we had to buy additional power at a very high price,” Bradfield said.
This time, Lincoln County Power is choosing to pre-purchase about 80% of its projected demand from alternative sources in hopes of avoiding further cost increases if Lake Mead drops below critical levels next year.
“This is a new world we live in,” Bradfield said.
Lincoln County Power is also working on long-term solutions by acquiring more solar power resources, including a proposed $3.5 million, 2-megawatt solar farm that is expected to begin construction within 12 to 18 months.
The utility is relying on $1.75 million in earmarked federal funding sponsored by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and administered by the Department of Energy.
“For a small utility like us, it’s very difficult to invest the money needed to build other types of power generation, such as fossil fuels or geothermal. Solar power is one of the things that can be built for a small amount of money and works well,” Bradfield said.
The impact of hydropower system disruptions is not limited to one county, nor did it happen overnight.
Lisa Levin, executive director of the Nevada Rural Power Association, said some of her members have not received 100% of their Hoover Dam deliveries “for a very long time.”
“My members have to be innovative and find their own solutions to problems they didn’t create,” Levine said. “Wait no more.”
The Overton Power District, a nonprofit electric utility serving approximately 19,000 customers throughout Mesquite, Bunkerville, Logandale, and Overton in Clark County, has historically received about one-quarter of its electricity from Hoover Dam.
Last year, the power district saw a 15% reduction in Hoover Dam transmission, ultimately more than doubling the district’s electricity costs.
“Anything we can’t get from Hoover, we have to buy from market contracts at a much higher rate,” said Melisa Garcia, general manager and CEO of Overton Power District. “The second half of this year will be even worse than we expected.”
One of Garcia’s biggest concerns is how the loss of reliable hydropower will affect his ability to prioritize the use of cheaper hydropower during peak hours to keep rates low.
“You can’t raise or lower the turbines to produce more or less hydropower at different times of the day, because you just need to take advantage of the limited energy flowing through the dam,” Garcia said. “We’ve never been in a situation like that before. We don’t know exactly how much profit there will be or what the cost will be.”
The power district currently gets about 14% of its electricity from solar, but as drought becomes a bigger problem for power generation, the utility is looking for ways to add more solar to its portfolio, Garcia said.
“What we’re seeing is that the cost of solar power is very comparable to some of our hydro contracts,” Garcia said.
For small utilities like the Overton Power District to build their own generation facilities, Garcia said they would need more capital than they currently have access to. Garcia said the best defense for now is to enter into long-term contracts to ensure utilities pay set rates as much as possible.
“I don’t know if people really make the connection between the impact of drought on hydropower and the benefits it brings to rural areas,” Garcia said.
Levine said utilities also face challenges in planning for long-term energy infrastructure due to changing federal priorities and support.
“We don’t have any bigger plans, but it’s a little disappointing,” Levine said. “Unfortunately, no matter who decides to support something, it becomes completely polarized. We saw that with solar power.”
The federal government is moving forward with some mitigation and adaptation measures, but fixes will take time.
The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dam, was recently authorized to invest $52 million in three wide-head turbines that can operate at water levels as low as 950 feet. This will reduce the expected capacity loss for hydropower generation to 58%. Without replacing the turbines, hydropower production would be cut by 70% due to lower reservoir levels. Funding was established through the Hoover Dam Support Act, sponsored by Cortez Masto in the Senate and Rep. Susie Lee in the House.
