Ketchikan utility continues running diesel generators
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Utility officials say recent rainfall in Ketchikan has helped fill reservoirs, but the precipitation has not been enough to switch on the area’s largest hydroelectric source.
The Ketchikan Daily News reports Ketchikan Public Utilities has been running diesel generators around the clock since it switched off the Swan Lake Hydro Facility earlier this month.
The utility began limiting its hydroelectric use in late September after the dry summer yielded low lake levels.
Swan Lake has returned to 286 feet (87 meters) above sea level as of last week, about 9 feet (3 meters) below the utility’s threshold for drawing water.
Electric division manager Andy Donato says he expects the Swan Lake facility to return to operation about the second week of November.
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Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com