Flathead Food Bank’s Chris Sidmore Takes Message of Keeping Rates Affordable to Washington

In October, Flathead Food Bank Director Chris Sidmore traveled to Washington, D.C., with Northwest RiverPartners. The group’s mission was to deliver a simple message to policymakers: affordable, reliable, clean power from the Federal Columbia River Power System is vital to the most vulnerable members of our communities.
“In summary, let’s all work together to keep rates affordable while protecting the area that we love and not pushing people slowly into poverty, ” Sidmore said.
“Tens of thousands of our neighbors living on the economic edge depend on hydropower to keep their electricity affordable and reliable,” noted Clark Mather, Executive Director for Northwest River Partners, who led the group.

The diverse group included people from communities across the Northwest Region. Representatives from organized labor, community organizations, rural cooperatives, and public utility districts met with lawmakers from every northwest state, including Montana. They traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for bipartisan cost cap legislation regulating the amount that Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) ratepayers (including FEC members) may pay to implement the controversial “12/14 Agreement” between the States of Oregon, Washington, several Tribal Nations, and the U.S. Government. The proposed legislation limits that amount to $300 million.
In recent years, the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) has faced rising threats from organizations that propose costly system operations changes. Some organizations specifically propose breaching the Lower Snake River Dams, four hydro projects of the 31 comprising the FCRPS. The 12/14 Agreement would alter operations on the four Lower Snake River Dams and commit the federal government to constructing new, less reliable power sources to replace the dam generation. If the Agreement is fully implemented, rates for FEC members could increase as much as 50%, while the future of Snake River Dams (and the vital power generation that comes with them) would be in jeopardy.
Sidmore reflected, “To be honest, I was shocked that people even opposed the dams. Everyone here I know loves the dams, the jobs, the recreation, and the cheap and reliable energy. It’s part of our identity as the Northwest.” Sidmore is a Montana native and noted his love of the outdoors. He believes that environmental protection is important and that safeguarding hydropower resources and the environment are not mutually exclusive goals.
The Flathead Food Bank operates at the Gateway Community Center in Kalispell. It serves around 80,000 individuals and nearly 4 million pounds of food annually. According to the Montana Food Bank Network, about 11% of Montana adults and 17% of Montana children are considered food insecure.
Sidmore summarized, “As a food bank director, I can attest to the direct correlation between the increase in the cost of living, in this case, utility rates, and the number of people who are pushed into services such as the food bank.”
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