Hydropower
The six main stem dams of the Missouri River support 36 hydropower units capable of using the force of moving water to generate approximately 2,500 megawatts, enough power to serve millions of households. Hydropower is an authorized purpose that returns revenues to the Federal Treasury.
Past
Both Colonel Pick of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Mr. Sloan of the Bureau of Reclamation proposed hydroelectric power production in Missouri River Basin plans that they presented separately to Congress in the early 1940s. Hydropower remained part of the compromise Pick-Sloan Plan that was embodied in the Flood Control Act of 1944.
Present
Power generation output is generally dependent upon seasonal patterns of water flow in the Missouri River. If possible, adjustments are made to provide more energy during winter and summer when demand is higher. Once the power is generated, it is turned over to Western Area Power Administration (Department of Energy) that sells power to customers including Tribes, communities, rural electric cooperatives, public utility and irrigation districts, Federal and State agencies, investor-owned utilities, and power marketers. They, in turn, provide electric services to millions of consumers in Iowa, Minnesota, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Montana and Nebraska.
