Some portion of space heating, cooking, and hot water heating comes from propane or wood burning. Wood could be said to be sustainable given local wood growth. However, a downside to domestic wood burning is decreased air quality indoors and out. Most of this rise is due to an increase in small business startups. Much of the power consumed locally is produced in a series of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia Basin.
Additional power is purchased on the surplus market.
The hydropower system is managed by BPA and provides some of the lowest-cost power in the nation, probably because prices charged do not reflect the whole cost of the generation system including hydrological and ecological impacts. Household users pay less than five cents per kilowatt hour. The dams were constructed and are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The federal government did not require the same repayment of capital costs by the Corps. Deregulation may increase consumers' power-buying choices in the years to come, allowing access to natural gas and other power options.