Editorial: Yakama Nation negotiates power deal

Friday, June 1, 2007  

"The Grant County Public Utility District commissioners are discussing a proposed settlement with the Yakama Nation to trade power at cost for an alliance. Nearly four years ago the Yakama Nation began an electricity utility. The newly formed Yakama Power was to attempt taking over the Priest Rapids dam license in effort to find power to supply residences on the reservation.

But, they did nothing to take the license away from Grant County PUD and instead filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concerning power sales agreements. This was after the PUD signed agreements to sell all of the power not being used in Grant County.

FERC dismissed their complaint and Yakama Power appealed through the federal 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco.

What they wanted was to buy power too."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Power Trip (The Columbia Basin Herald 5/31)

Yakama Power - http://www.yakamapower.com

Related Stories:
Yakama Nation's power utility faces challenge (5/30)
Yakama Nation's new utility powers reservation (05/12)