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Sparkplug, Although your viewpoint has been expressed to me by others with far more knowledge of the pricing model than me. But I've yet to find any information that would suggest that hydro power generation will increase on the Bow River once the PPP agreements are discontinued. The limiting factor is the water resource upstream and licensing agreements downstream. Under the existing federal agreements hydropeaking is the only way power can be generated, by way of storing water capacity for a proportion of the day to give sufficient reserve to operate the electrical turbines. This usually takes place when peak price revenues can be achieved. TransAlta has told me when asked if the system could be switched over to "run-of-the-river" hydro power generation on both the Bow and Kananaskis rivers that the water reserves will not allow it. In other words the limiting factor is water supply. If you look at the AEP stream flow website and review the storage capacity summaries across the Bow River Basin you will see the majority of upstream storage is currently at 85 to 95 % full. In the spring this will drop to less than 50% in some reservoirs. This suggests to me that the current hydro-power generation is close to maximum. The one exception is the AEP Flood Mitigation Operational Model put in place from April to July when Ghost hydro is take off line when the reservoir is emptied. Interestingly, I have started to look at the impact of the proposals for one of three new dam options upstream of Calgary, at either Morley, Ghost or Glenbow. The Ghost upgrade, whereby a new dam and spillway is installed down stream of the existing dam looks to be the best option. It also offers the opportunity to stop hydropeaking and possibly elimination power generation at that site all together. But still the hydrologists believe power hydro power generations will offset the cost of the new dam to some degree. I find it difficult to believe that a new dam could ever be built on the Bow River to protect Calgary against flooding. The proposals as they stand give little relief in stream flow. There is a need for a fresh look at the report generated by the Bow River Water Working Group who put the recommendations together for the three-dam options. Decommissioning all power generation on the Bow River and using the existing storage capacity to offset floods and maintain constant flows where at all possible would make far more sense. Only time will tell!

I had the pleasure of taking part in the Wyoming Cutt-Slam on my recent cross country road trip in mid August. As per usual with this trip, my time was limited to a few hours at each location, but the experience was amazing and took me to some places I likely would never see otherwise. Fortunately the fish cooperated and allowed me to catch the 4 native cutthroat species in day. A Headwaters Creek with Bonneville Cutthroat. Jeep-high willows all around and tons of fish. Took just one cast to catch this subspecies but I stayed around for many more. Headwaters Creek with Colorado River Cutthroat. Much more elusive but managed to catch a couple here. My favorite stop of the trip. You can drive this river from the headwaters to the bottom (and i did) - it starts as a trickle and ends looking like the highwood in run off. I fished it at a few access points in the upper sections, where at first my fly was refused by some surprisingly large Snake River cutties. I eventually managed to land a couple fish as I changed flies. It was nice to be challenged on this river, it made me like it even more. The scenery was amazing and the fishing was top quality, i'll definitely be back on this river the first chance I get. Last stop to catch some Yellowstone Cutthroat. Yellowstone park isn't very dog friendly, so this area was about the only option for me. Another amazingly scenic area with awesome red-tinged rock features and lots of willing cutts. A close second favorite. All finished, this trip was an awesome experience and i'm so glad i did it. Planning the locations to catch each species was a big part of the adventure so I haven't named any creeks and encourage any future challenge seekers to plan it your own way (Ask if you really want). Each system was uniquely awesome, and despite doing this on a Saturday in mid August, I didn't cross paths with another angler. Bonus: Stopped at a popular place near Missoula on my way down South. Lots of Rocks....

Fishteck, while I agree with and like your thoughts about numerous factors possibly contributing to flow/level changes, the fact remains that with more wind generation being added to the Alberta electric system, Power Pool price volatility will increase, which will increase the financial incentive for TransAlta to use these hydro units to respond to that price volatility. This will in turn translate into more flow/level fluctuations. The fact that certain Bow system hydro PPA's are expiring in 2020 (giving TransAlta more latitude in terms of using these generators more aggressively to respond to Pool Price, for their own account/profit) won't help either.

Lol, such a typical troll response. Attack, vilify and criticize. Nothing in the way of constructive input or suggested solutions. Keyboard warrior of the day...