Hoover Dam power bill advances
WASHINGTON -- A bill that would renew contracts for states and cities in the Southwest that pull electricity from Hoover Dam advanced in Congress on Wednesday.
The House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill that would authorize the distribution of electricity from the dam through 2067 to buyers in Nevada, Arizona and California. The 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 had not previously been included in power marketing from the dam.
The bill was negotiated by officials in the three states. It is sponsored in the House by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., and in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
