Dam operator speaks at chamber meeting

While many Lake County residents follow the ebb and flow of water in Flathead Lake for recreational purposes, managers of the Selis Ksanka Qlispe Dam work downstream to turn the resource into a driver of Montana industry.

“We do a lot of things behind the scenes that you don’t think about,” Travis Togo, director of power management for Energy Keepers Inc., which operates the dam under the ownership of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, told members of the Polson Chamber of Commerce last week.

Togo gave a presentation detailing the commercial and environmental aspects associated with the hydroelectric facility.

As a merchant generating company, Togo said Energy Keepers not only produces electricity but also markets and sells power on a daily basis. Over the past three years, he said, Energy Keepers has secured nearly half of the 21 major electricity customers in Montana, which include oil refineries, hospitals, data centers and various industrial operations.

“What we do in Polson is very important to the rest of the state,” he said. “Huge volumes of commodities are moving in and out of the community.”

In addition to serving in-state consumers, Togo said Energy Keepers also provides electricity to operations in California as well as the MGM Grand hotel complex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As the energy industry continues to evolve, Togo said Energy Keepers is poised to continue attracting customers. While advancements have taken place in solar and wind technology, Togo said holding water behind a dam remains one of the best way for storing electricity.

Togo added that independent operations like Energy Keepers represent a movement away from the system of exclusive control single companies used to hold over Montana’s energy industry.

“We’re happy to be part of breaking up that monopoly,” Togo said.

Turning his attention toward the natural resource aspects of dam operation, Togo addressed a popular subject among local residents.

“I get a lot of calls from people saying the lake’s too full or it’s too empty,” Togo said “Everybody wants something different, but you can rest assured, the lake is fine.”

Togo said the Flathead Basin has experienced incredibly volatile weather over the past few years, ranging from a historically dry spring in 2015 to record rainfall last fall that registered 300 percent of average.

“It was pretty epic,” Togo said.

In expectation of a large spring runoff, dam operators aggressively drafted the lake down over the winter. As conditions return to normal, Togo said he expects to lake to reach full pool by the end of June.

Following the presentation, questions from the audience involved the dam’s physical condition and the threats posed by invasive mussels.

Togo said that like most hydroelectric projects across the west, the facility dates back to the mid-1900s. Although the dam remains structurally strong, operators are working proactively to replace components used for electricity generation.

Togo said an infestation of invasive mussels in Flathead Lake would bring a host of problems for the facility, including damage to pipes and moving equipment. At the moment, Togo said he’s counting on state and tribal efforts to prevent the spread of mussels into Flathead Lake.