Bill brings economic stability to Nevada through clean, reliable power

October 19, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced that the Senate has passed the Hoover Power Allocation Act, legislation Reid first introduced in the last Congress before reintroducing it in March.  This bill ensures that clean, renewable electricity from Hoover Dam will continue to power Nevada until 2067. 

“Hoover Dam has been a critical part of the economic growth of Southern Nevada for more than seventy-five years, ” said Reid.  “I am pleased that my legislation will become law very soon because I’ve worked for years to ensure that Nevada’s oldest renewable energy project will continue to provide its businesses and families with clean and affordable energy for the next fifty years.”

Before the Hoover Power Allocation Act can become law, the House of Representatives will need to pass a correcting resolution that authorizes technical changes to the enrollment of the bill.

RECENT LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND:

• In July 2011, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the legislation.
• In March 2011, Senator Reid introduced the Hoover Power Allocation Act, S.519, in the Senate.
• Last Congress, Senator Reid lead the Nevada delegation in introducing the Hoover Power Allocation Act in December 2009.
• In June 2010, Senator Reid submitted testimony on clean energy from the Hoover Dam to the Senate water and power subcommittee hearing.
• Last Congress, Republicans blocked the bipartisan Hoover Power Allocation Act as part of a public lands bill.

BACKGROUND ON HOOVER DAM

The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 authorized the Secretary of Interior to construct Hoover Dam and enter into contracts for the sale of power generated at the dam.

Hoover Dam is operated and maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation and it was dedicated by President Roosevelt in 1935.

There are 17 main turbines in the Hoover Power Plant -- nine on the Arizona wing and eight on the Nevada wing.

According to the Bureau of Reclamation, Nevada receives approximately 25 percent of the electricity generated at Hoover Dam and the ten-year average annual net generation for Hoover Dam through 2008 was about 4.2 billion kilowatt-hours.

By statute, the Colorado River Commission delivers some of that electricity to municipalities like Boulder City; Lincoln County; Overton Power District; and Valley Electric.  The Commission also delivers power to the Basic Management Industrial Complex near Henderson.

In 1984, Congress enacted the Hoover Power Plant Act which authorized the Secretary of Energy to allocate the power produced at the dam under three schedules and the allocation of power under these schedules was scheduled to expire in 2017.

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