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OROVILLE — Back in 2021 the Hyatt Powerplant was taken offline because of historically low water levels.

DWR announced that the plant is expected to stay online through 2022. On Monday, the lake level was at 693 feet elevation whereas the level had dropped to 628 in September 2021.

The plant is capable of generating 714 megawatts when the lake is at full capacity.

“The entire Oroville complex can produce up to 900 (megawatts) of power generation when reservoirs are full and all units are operating at maximum capacity,” according to a response from DWR. “The powerplant provides clean hydropower to California’s electrical grid which is operated by the California Independent System Operator. Information about hydropower’s contribution to the energy grid is available from the California Energy Commission.”

DWR cited extreme drought conditions as the reason for taking the plant offline in 2021.

“DWR completed major maintenance activities while the powerplant was offline to ensure the plant maintains its reliability and is available for water deliveries and clean hydropower generation,” DWR said. “The powerplant was brought back online on Jan. 1, 2022 as winter precipitation increased lake elevations.”

The plant was used during a major heatwave in September and was adjusted by the State Water Project to ramp up its megawattage in order to meet energy needs related to the heat such as air conditioning.

Earlier this year, DWR announced a large-scale maintenance project on the Oroville Dam spillway gates.

Essentially, each gate’s pulley is being replaced one by one during the months when the gates are considered to be inactive.

According to DWR, the first hoist has already been fabricated and is set to be installed later this month.

“Oroville Dam’s Flood Control Outlet, or main spillway gates, are undergoing a multi-year project to perform maintenance repairs on the eight radial gate hoist assemblies,” DWR said. “One gate hoist assembly replica has been fabricated and work to install the gate hoist assembly begins the week of Oct. 17 to ensure the gate is available and fully operational throughout the flood season.”

This project will be an annual occurrence until all hoists are replaced with their replicas.

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