The vastly different viewpoints around whether or not the Potter Valley Project should be decommissioned — and dismantled — took center stage at a special event in Lakeport at the end of May. The Lake County Chamber of Commerce hosted the Lake Pillsbury and Potter Valley Project town hall on the evening of Wednesday, May 28, at the Soper Reese Theater in Lakeport. The Potter Valley Project includes the Potter Valley powerhouse, Cape Horn Dam and Van Arsdale Reservoir, Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has operated the project for decades but in 2019 the corporation abandoned its license for the hydroelectric facility after determining it was “uneconomic” for its customers to maintain. The negotiations about the future of the project, and in particular Lake Pillsbury — located in northern Lake County — have seen Lake County largely sidelined by larger regional and political interests.

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