Warren E. Buffett, CEO
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
3555 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Gregory E. Abel, Chairman
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
666 Grand Avenue
P.O. Box 657
Des Moines, IA 50306-0657
Stefan Bird, President and CEO
Pacific Power
825 NE Multnomah Street
Portland, OR 97232
Dear Mr. Buffett, Mr. Abel, and Mr. Bird,
We are writing to respectfully request that PacifiCorp/Pacific Power move forward expeditiously to resolve any concerns you may have with regard to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s July 16th order for partial license transfer of the four lower Klamath River hydroelectric dams to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation.
While we recognize that FERC’s order is a departure from PacifiCorp’s preferred course of action with regard to the decommissioning and removal of these dams, we strongly believe that the interests of your ratepayers and your shareholders can be met within the framework of the order. Now is the moment for swift action and an immediate effort to resolve any of the company’s concerns to keep the dam removal process on track.
- Dam removal is good for PacifiCorp’s ratepayers. The California and Oregon Public Utilities Commissions agreed that dam removal was the most cost-effective way forward for your ratepayers. Walking away from the KHSA at this moment would almost certainly require you to collect additional funds from your ratepayers and/or your shareholders to bring the dams into compliance with current environmental regulations. Moreover, you would lose access to $250 million in public funds already pledged by the State of California to cover more than half the cost of dam removal and associated restoration activities.
- These dams impose extreme economic and cultural stress on Klamath Basin tribal communities. Salmon are culturally and economically essential to several Klamath Basin Tribes. The dams deny salmon access to hundreds of miles of historical spawning habitat, degrade water quality, and create conditions ripe for fish disease. The result is that several runs of salmon are teetering on the brink of extinction. Dam removal would significantly improve conditions for these fish.
- Time is of the essence. A delay of months to address PacifiCorp’s concerns could slow down the dam removal process by a year or more, driving up the cost of the project by tens of millions of dollars and increasing stress on fragile migratory fish populations.
We respectfully urge you to engage quickly and energetically with the other signatories to the Amended Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement to come to resolution over specific issues of concern to PacifiCorp with regard to FERC’s July order. The best way to limit cost overruns is for PacifiCorp, Oregon and Washington, tribes, commercial fishermen, sportsmen and conservation groups, local communities, and the KRRC to work together to keep the project on schedule. If PacifiCorp remains committed to its partners, its partners will remain committed to reducing PacifiCorp’s risks.
We encourage you to work quickly to identify how your partners can address PacifiCorp’s concerns with FERC’s order. Removing these dams is equitable, good for the environment, and economically sensible. It’s time for Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and PacifiCorp to do what it takes to keep Klamath dam removal on track. It’s the right thing to do, and it makes good business sense.
Sincerely,
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