ARLINGTON, Va. – National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson today expressed alarm over a secret deal that would set in motion steps to breach the Lower Snake River Dams. The proposed deal was made public by lawmakers from the Pacific Northwest on Nov. 29.
“The proposed backroom deal is deeply alarming and 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 the administration’s misplaced desire to undermine our nation’s essential portfolio of carbon-free hydroelectric resources without considering the cost. This is another egregious example of proposed government actions having devastating real-world consequences.”
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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