SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hyatt Powerplant resumed operation Tuesday after being offline for five months. The California Department of Water Resources says December storms delivered enough water to resume operations of the hydropower plant.
The powerplant had to stop operations in August of 2021 due to historic low lake levels amidst the ongoing statewide drought. Record rain and snow in October followed by big storms in December have boosted lake levels and have provided colder water in the reservoir, allowing operations to resume.
A lot of the water that will fill reservoirs is still in the Sierra snowpack. Levels are still starting to climb to near or above average.
DWR says the Hyatt Powerplant currently has one generating unit producing electricity. This helps supply the state’s electrical grid managed by the California Independent System Operator. If lake levels continue to rise, DWR says they will bring additional units online.
Big gains in the reservoir numbers typically don't happen until the spring Sierra snowmelt. Even though the numbers look promising right now, the snowpack only represents about 50% to 60% of the April 1 average, which is when the runoff typically starts to pick up pace.
It's also important to keep in mind that it is still early in the season.
The current drought status across the state is starting to improve with a significant portion of the state out of exceptional drought. To bring more areas out of drought status, the storm cycle needs to continue through the rest of the winter and into March to make a better recovery after two years of near historic dry conditions.
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