Noah Berger/AP Photo California hits drought milestone as Oroville hydropower stops for first timeSAN FRANCISCO California water management officials shut down hydropower generation at Lake Oroville on Thursday due to falling lake levels. This is a significant milestone in California's drought.What happened: Low water levels in Lake Oroville's second-largest reservoir caused the Hyatt Powerplant to go offline for the first ever time in its history. The lake generates electricity by pumping water through its turbines. However, it cannot produce power if the lake level drops below 630 to 640 feet. According to state data, levels reached 642 feet Thursday.Context: The Hyatt Powerplant can produce 750 MW, but it usually produces 100-400MW, depending on the lake level. As the lake levels decreased, it had been operating at a decreasing capacity. It was able to supply 10 MW this week from 30 MW last Wednesday. Officials had predicted that the reservoir would lose power since June and Thursday's announcement stated that they have taken steps to prepare for that loss.Karla Nemeth, DWR Director, stated that DWR had anticipated the situation and that the state had planned for it in water management and grid management.Grid operators are concerned about blackouts this summer. They have issued half-dozen calls to voluntary conservation after temperatures spiked and supplies have dropped due to transmission limitations and generation going offline. The overall electricity supply was expected to be well above the projected demand on Thursday, but hydropower levels were only a third higher than last August.Oroville is currently at 24% of its capacity. This is about a third less than the average for this time period. Other major reservoirs in the state are doing slightly better with Shasta Lake at 31% capacity and Trinity Lake at 40%.It means that California must rely on other power sources as it deals with the effects of climate change. Although the state has the ability to import more supply, it is less reliable because major wildfires can threaten Western transmission lines. This was evident last month in Oregon, when there was a heat wave.Gov. Gavin Newsom has relaxed rules regarding fossil fuel use to make it possible for back-up power in times of emergency. The state is trying to avoid blackouts like those that occurred last summer during a heatwave.Newsom's administration is going to be scrutinized closely over the next six week as he faces a recall election on Sept. 14. Republican candidates for Newsom's replacement have cited blackouts, unreliable power supplies, and a lack of water as reasons to remove them from office.James Gallagher (Republican-Nicolaus), an outspoken Newsom critic, supports recall and represents Oroville in a statement saying that "Californians must reject the Governors excuses and copouts." It was possible to prevent the lake from being drained to an historic low. The forced shut down of Hyatt's Powerplant was also preventable. Proper forest management can prevent catastrophic wildfires.Colby Bermel contributed to the report.
