SRP

Salt River Project wants the reservoir to function like an electric battery, releasing water through a hydropower dam when customers need power.

Representatives David Schweikert and Greg Stanton, would extend land available for power projects for two additional miles on the south side of Apache Lake. The intake would sit about 30 feet below the average surface of Apache, which rarely is drawn down like some other reservoirs in the area that nearly dry up in summer. "Two is topography that allows for not only the elevation change between the two reservoirs but also the geography to construct a reservoir." "An all-of-the-above energy strategy is essential to meeting Arizona’s growing economic and household consumption demands,” Schweikert said in a news release. But facing opposition from Native American tribes that consider the area sacred, that company [Subscribe to azcentral.com today](https://offers.azcentral.com/specialoffer?gps-source=CPNEWS&utm_medium=onsite&utm_source=TAGLINE&utm_campaign=NEWSROOM&utm_content=RYANRANDAZZO). But he said SRP needs something to generate power longer into the night. Follow him on Twitter [@UtilityReporter](https://twitter.com/utilityreporter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor). The pumped-storage pool would hold 10,000 to 20,000 acre feet of water. Pumped storage is slightly different than the existing pumpback facilities because it uses an additional reservoir. Pumpback uses electricity when prices are low to run water uphill through turbines on those dams. Even in years with little rainfall, SRP maintains Apache's water level at near full via Horse Mesa Dam.