Bill renewing dam contracts advances in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — A bill that would renew contracts for states and cities in the Southwest that draw electricity from Hoover Dam advanced Thursday in the Senate.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee OK’d and sent to the Senate floor a bill that would authorize the distribution of electricity from the dam through 2067 to buyers in Nevada, Arizona and California. Current contracts expire in 2017.
The bill also sets aside a pool of electricity that would be offered to Indian tribes, irrigation districts and rural electric cooperatives that have not previously been included in power marketing from the dam.
The bill was negotiated by officials in the three states before being introduced in Congress by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.
