BOUNTIFUL -- Bountiful residents should not only wish for more snow to fill Utah's reservoirs, they should also hope the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado see an increase in precipitation.
With low-water levels at Lake Powell fed by the Green River from the Colorado River, power generated at Glen Canyon Dam dwindles.
"Sixty percent of our power usually comes from the Colorado River Storage Project, but we've seen a 30 percent reduction," said Clifford Michaelis, director of Bountiful Light & Power.
Some power is also generated at Flaming Gorge Dam.
Lack of water in the West may mean higher power rates for Bountiful Light & Power's 14,500 customers.
"Looking at our budget if we don't see a turnaround in the water situation we may have to raise rates soon," Michaelis said.
"Hydro power is the best renewable clean source of power. and also less expensive. Other sources of power cost about twice as much," he said.
An ideal situation for the power company would be to buy 60 percent of its power from CRSP.
In Utah, about 25 percent of consumers receive power from municipal power plants. The rest buy power from Utah Power & Light.
The local companies work together in buying and selling power and building more power projects.
"Our three priorities are to provide excellent customer service, provide a reliable system at a low cost," Michaelis said.
The power company helps keep taxes low by generating as much as $2 million each year to the city's general fund.
The city belongs to the Utah Associated Municipal Power System. (UAMPS). This organization includes 45 member cities including Page, Ariz., Idaho Falls and other communities near the state.
Bountiful is also one of 23 Utah cities that cooperatively own the Intermountain Power Project near Delta. Most of the power generated there is sold to six cities in California. About 47 percent of power is sold to Los Angeles.
Bountiful should never hurt for power because of contracts with IPP. It also owns generators at Echo Reservoir and Pineview Dam. If transmission lines go down, Bountiful has its own power plant which is fueled by natural gas and diesel. The plant can generate 18 megawatts of power.
"Our highest peak of use is 76 megawatts, so in an emergency we could rotate power to various parts of the city," Michaelis said.