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Northwest River Partners says hydropower still broadly supported as electricity affordability rises
Summary
Clark Mather of Northwest River Partners told the Richland City Council that an organization survey of 1,600 Pacific Northwest residents shows bipartisan support for hydropower while affordability has risen to the top public concern; he linked recent court-ordered spill operations to reduced generation and rising retail rates.
Clark Mather, executive director of Northwest River Partners, told the Richland City Council on July 28 that his group's public-opinion survey of 1,600 people across the Pacific Northwest (including 400 in Washington) shows broad, bipartisan support for the federal hydropower system. "We have a growing affordability crisis," Mather said, arguing that hydropower has long helped keep rates low in the region.
Mather said opposition to hydropower has fallen to roughly 8 percent in the Pacific Northwest and that the public now cites energy affordability as a higher priority than climate change in the most recent survey results. He presented regional data and cited publicly available Energy Information Administration figures showing Washington retail electric rates rose 5.7 percent between 2023 and 2024, a larger increase than the U.S. average.
Why it matters: Mather framed the public-opinion findings as relevant to local planning and to state and federal discussions over hydropower operations, urging stakeholders in Richland to engage with governors and attorneys general. He also asked council members to sign up for follow-up briefings and materials his group will provide.
