Chelan County PUD To Supply Hydropower To Avista

Washington State’s Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD) and investor-owned utility Avista have finalized a contract for hydropower from the PUD’s two hydro projects on the Columbia River.

The 20-year contract will increase Avista’s carbon-free resources toward its 2030 renewable energy goals, as well as contributes flexible capacity to identified needs in Washington and Idaho. The acquisition closes out Avista’s 2020 Renewable request for proposals.

The competitively priced contract provides Avista with 5% of the output from the PUD’s Rock Island and Rocky Reach hydropower projects from 2026 through 2030 and increases to 10% of the output from these projects in 2031-2045.

The contract includes both carbon-free energy attributes provided by hydropower as well as dispatchable capacity to help Avista meet peak energy needs during high customer usage times.