The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) owns and operates the Upper American River Project (UARP), a hydroelectric facility located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. The UARP lies within El Dorado and Sacramento counties, primarily within lands of the Eldorado National Forest. The project is a large hydroelectric development composed of several reservoirs and powerhouses located along streams and rivers within the American River basin.

The UARP diverts and regulates water in portions of the Rubicon River, Silver Creek and South Fork American River watersheds. The general linear alignment of

powerhouses has led to the name "Stairway of Power", referring to the multiple steps of power generation, that combined, constitute a one-mile drop in elevation over 53 miles of river. The project also includes about 180 miles of transmission lines that transport electricity from the project powerhouses into Sacramento County.

In 1957, the Federal Power Commission - predecessor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) - granted a 50-year license to SMUD for the construction and operation of the UARP. The present project configuration of 11 dams and eight powerhouses was constructed over a period of approximately 30 years, culminating in 1985 with the addition of the Jones Fork Powerhouse.

With a total installed capacity of 688 MW, the UARP is an important component of the SMUD-owned generation used to serve the needs of the 1.2 million residents of our service territory. Other sources of SMUD-generated power include natural gas-fired cogeneration, solar (photovoltaic) and wind energy. All SMUD-generated power combined provides approximately one-half of the yearly demand. The primary value of the UARP to SMUD lies in the project's ability to provide economical power generation, operational flexibility, and system reliability to our customer-owners. The UARP storage capability, coupled with its operational flexibility, also provides a level of protection to SMUD from unexpected increases in the price of electricity on the open market.

With a total gross reservoir storage capacity of over 400,000 acre-feet, the UARP typically enables SMUD to store water during winter and spring months, then generate electricity during summer and other months when demand and/or wholesale market prices are at their highest levels and natural flows are low. Operating in this manner, the UARP provides about 20 percent of SMUD's customer demand during peak load hours. In a typical year, the UARP produces approximately 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity, enough energy to power 180,000 households. SMUD is currently proposing to include the Iowa Hill Pumped Storage Development in the FERC relicensing of the UARP.  The proposed development will be a 400MW pumped storage generating facility using the Slab Creek Reservoir as the lower reservoir and a new reservoir to be located on the top of Iowa Hill. The size of the Iowa Hill reservoir is under consideration and will range from 2,100 acre feet to 6,400 acre feet. Estimated cost is $300-400 million for the construction of the facility which is intended for use during peak power demand.

The value of the UARP was greatly accentuated during the 2000-2001 energy crisis that gripped California and spread into neighboring western states. During the crisis, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) regularly declared Stage 2 and Stage 3 emergencies that led, in some cases, to rolling blackouts within the SMUD service territory and elsewhere in California. This unprecedented breakdown in California system reliability was accompanied by exorbitant increases in electricity prices at the wholesale level. Similar substantive upswings in the price of natural gas also lead to significant increases in the cost of generating power at SMUD's cogeneration facilities.

A secondary benefit provided by the UARP is recreation. Recreational facilities have been developed around the Project storage reservoirs, mostly in an area commonly referred to as the Crystal Basin Recreation Area. Facilities include more than 700 campsites, fishing piers, paved bicycle trails and a cross-country skiing hut. These facilities provide an abundant and varied recreational spectrum for residents throughout northern California. The operation of the UARP has also contributed to whitewater rafting on the South Fork American River. By storing a portion of flows from spring run-off and releasing it during low-flow summer months, SMUD helps by providing a higher than natural flow regime during popular boating months, such as July and August.

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