Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for the comprehensive planning, development, management, and repayment of federal water resource projects authorized to reclaim the arid West. To this end, Reclamation projects serve a range of interrelated functions, namely the provision of water and generation of hydroelectric power. Reclamation’s mission statement reads: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.”
Reclamation has a long and successful history providing renewable, reliable, and affordable hydropower to our customers. As the operating environment has evolved over the past century, Reclamation has adapted, leveraging new technologies and partnerships to meet the nation’s water and energy needs. Today, Reclamation ranks as the nation’s second largest producer of hydropower. Reclamation owns and operates 53 hydroelectric plants, comprising 14.7 million kilowatts of installed capacity. Annually, Reclamation generates more than 40 billion kilowatt hours of electricity (the equivalent demand of approximately 3.5 million homes), produces nearly one billion dollars in power revenues, and displaces approximately 27 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Learn more: http://www.usbr.gov/power/
