(The Center Square) – Seattle City Light has proposed an agreement to continue to use hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River to power the city’s electricity for up to the next 50 years.
But the full details of the agreement, disclosed on Monday, indicate it will cost the city-owned electrical utility – and its customers, in the form of a 0.5% rate increase per year from 2027 to 2032, according to the utility.
Seattle City Light has agreed to invest $979 million to build fish passage at its three Skagit River dams, a commitment its own scientists long insisted was unnecessary.
The utility has agreed to pay more than $1.5 billion to settle a long-running dispute between three tribal governments over the city’s operation of the three dams located 65 miles north of Seattle.
The agreement that Seattle City Light made with tribal governments, Washington state and federal regulators requires the utility to spend up to $979 million to capture adult salmon below the dams, place them in trucks and then transport them upstream to spawn.
The tribes had accused Seattle City Light of blocking their access to fish by building the dams more than 100 years ago. The city had previously argued against installing fish passage systems at its dams.
But it changed its position in 2023 as part of the permit renewal process with federal regulators. The change of position ended tribal opposition for a new agreement with federal energy officials.
The dams provide approximately 20% of the city’s power.
A top Seattle City Light official said the agreement establishes a clear framework for the ongoing partnerships to increase the salmon population.
“The city of Seattle was basically built on the energy produced by the Skagit project,” Chris Townsend, director of natural resources and hydro licensing for Seattle City Light, said at a Thursday press briefing.
Another $200 million would be spent on habitat restoration around the Ross, Diablo and Gorge dams.
A final $350 million would go to three tribes: the Upper Skagit, Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle, who had fought Seattle City Light for years over the dams’ blockage of salmon passage to upstream habitats, violating treaty rights and threatening the survival of the species.
That money is supposed to go to tribal cultural centers, employment programs and financial compensation to tribes.
In a statement, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said the agreement shows Seattle’s commitment to clean renewable energy while respecting tribal sovereignty and leadership.
Swinomish Tribal Community Chairman Steve Edwards hailed the agreement.
“The hard-fought agreement with tribes and state and federal agencies includes provisions to pass salmon over three dams, restore fish habitat and provide some compensation for Native nations harmed by the construction and ongoing operation of the hydropower project,” he said in a news release.
The dispute goes back to 1919 when the Seattle City Light started building the Gorge Dam without tribal permission.
The resulting rate increase from the agreement is on top of a previously approved 5.4% rate hike effective as of Jan. 1. The utility said that the cost of providing clean power to help fight climate change and replace aging electric infrastructure is responsible for the higher bills.
The agreement on the Skagit River dams still needs to be approved by the Seattle City Council. The Council’s Parks and City Light Committee will consider the agreement on March 18.
The city’s long-term agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expired in 2025. The city is operating the dams on a yearly basis until a new long-term agreement can be signed.
Given environmental and other reviews, the city anticipates that a new contract won’t be approved until around 2030.
The other half of the roughly total $4 billion agreement covers capital improvements to the dams.
