• The Bonneville Power Administration has to buy outside power when protecting fish requires it to change water flows through some of its 31 hydro dams, raising its prices for its wholesale customers.
• The Northwest Power and Conservation Council compiled the figures and said the BPA paid $564.7 million in fiscal 2011. The federal government covered the difference. That was down from 2010 because of reduced demand.
• Court orders for endangered-species protection requires many of the changes annually.

From the article:

The cost of protecting fish in the Pacific Northwest hit $650 million last year and ratepayers picked up most of the tab, according to a new study.