News Release Archive

Switchyard Contract Awarded At Grand Coulee Dam

Media Contact: Diana Cross, (208) 378-5020, dcross@pn.usbr.gov
Craig Sprankle, csprankle@pn.usbr.gov

For Release: April 17, 2006

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $6.5 million contract to Burke Electric LLC of Bellevue, Wash., for construction of an electric switchyard at Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in eastern Washington. The contract was awarded on April 14 and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2007.

The switchyard will operate at 11.95 kilovolts and will provide power from generators in the dam to other facilities at the project. Work under the contract will include site preparation and designing, furnishing, and installing transformers, circuit breakers, control boards, disconnects, and associated support structures, lighting, wiring, and cabling.

"This work will help to ensure that Grand Coulee Dam remains a stable and reliable source of hydroelectric power in the Pacific Northwest," said Acting Commissioner Bill Rinne. "Clean and renewable energy resources such as this are essential to the economy and a healthy environment."

The power facilities at Grand Coulee Dam include 33 generators in three power plants and a pumping plant and three switchyards. The rated electrical capacity of Grand Coulee is 6,809,000 kilowatts, making it the largest hydroelectric dam in North America. It is a key feature of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project in central Washington. A multi-purpose project, it provides flood control, irrigation, hydropower production, recreation, stream flows, and fish and wildlife benefits. Grand Coulee provides water for approximately 600,000 acres in the Columbia Basin Project and generates 19,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of power annually.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.