​Hydropower delivers clean power to over 60 percent of the people in the Pacific Northwest. It accounts for 90 percent of renewable energy in the region and helps to reliably integrate new intermittent renewables
like solar and wind into the grid. 

​Hydroelectric dams in the Northwest produce more electricity than any other North American river system. The majority of that hydropower is delivered from the Federal Columbia River Power System, a collaborative operation between Bonneville Power Administration and the generating agencies, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). This system delivers at-cost power to public preference customers across the Northwest.

​Federal Hydropower Summit

In 2016, the power marketing administrations (BPA, Southeastern Power Administration, Southwestern Power Administration and Western Power Administration), USACE and Reclamation formed the Federal Hydropower Summit – a collaborative effort to explore opportunities to retain and improve the federal hydropower system across the country. Together, these agencies deliver more than 44 percent of the nation’s hydropower via 133 federal hydropower facilities and 34,000 miles of federal high-voltage transmission lines. The energy generated and delivered serves more than 60 million homes and businesses, or approximately 150 million people, in 33 states. This ongoing effort will look for improvements that ensure reliable hydropower continues to be delivered at the best value for the nation.

For more information on this effort, email pmaliaisons@bpa.gov.

​Brochure: Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) 

The Columbia River System Inside Story