The United States would see an immediate bump in its energy capacity under a tentative Columbia River Treaty agreement, with Canada shrinking its claim to Pacific Northwest hydropower supplies, senior Biden administration officials said Thursday.
Beginning in August, Canada would reduce its share of hydropower produced on the Columbia River, boosting U.S. capacity by 600 megawatts and energy available for sale to consumers by 230 MW.
“These new terms will go a long way towards helping meet the growing demands for energy in the region, and avoid building unnecessary fossil fuel-based generation,” said John Hairston, who serves as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration.
The shift in energy availability is part of a “agreement in principle” announced Thursday by President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to modernize the 60-year old Columbia River Treaty, which governs both hydropower operations and flood risk management on the waterway.
