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Dam Safety: FERC Should Analyze Portfolio-Wide Risks

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Oct. 5, 2018
Release Date Nov. 5, 2018
Report No. GAO-19-19
Summary:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees over 2,500 dams used for hydropower. The near failure of a FERC-licensed dam in California in 2017 highlights the safety risks of dams. What does FERC do to ensure safety?

FERC engineers inspect dams and review engineering studies as key safety steps. This helps FERC understand the risks at individual dams. However, a lack of standard language and procedures for recording inspection results limits FERC's ability to identify comparable safety risks at other dams.

We recommended that FERC develop standard language and procedures for inspection information and assess safety risks portfolio-wide.

Dam and Related Key Structures

Illustration of a dam used to produce hydropower.

Illustration of a dam used to produce hydropower.

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