NWPPA Supports Ending Flawed Dam Breaching Agreement
(VANCOUVER, WASH.) The Northwest Public Power Association supports the U.S. government’s announced intent to withdraw from the Dec.14, 2023, memorandum of understanding between the federal government; the states of Oregon and Washington; the Nez Perce Tribe; the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation; and several environmental NGOs. This withdrawal is a necessary course correction toward energy reliability, affordability, and transparency.
The 2023 MOU was framed by both proponents and critics as a “roadmap to breaching the lower Snake River dams”—critical infrastructure that provides affordable, reliable, and CO₂-free electricity to millions of residents and businesses across the Pacific Northwest.
In an era of skyrocketing electricity demand, these dams are essential to maintaining grid reliability and keeping energy bills affordable—especially for low- and fixed-income households. Preserving the dams provides a lifeline for the Northwest’s clean energy economy and its most vulnerable families. Studies have shown that the loss of these hydropower resources could increase electricity rates by 40% or more for many communities and heighten the risk of regional blackouts.
The 2023 MOU was negotiated in secret—with public power excluded from meaningful participation. “As someone directly involved in the broader process leading up to the agreement, I can say with confidence that public power utilities—who serve tens of millions of Americans—were deliberately excluded from the negotiations. In short, the MOU was never authorized or endorsed by the people or communities most affected by increasing energy costs,” said Kurt Miller, CEO & executive director of NWPPA.
See the attached for the full release.