Paul Schmidt starts his workday at Southern California Edison’s Bishop Creek Hydroelectric Project, just as sunlight starts to illuminate the rugged, towering peaks of the Sierra Nevada — a mountain range that represents reliability and legacy.
“I’m local to the area, and my dad worked at SCE for more than 40 years,” said Schmidt, a hydroelectric operator mechanic at SCE. “I grew up around the hydroelectric crews and spent a lot of time around the projects.”
For the last 21 years, Schmidt has worked at Bishop Creek Mono Basin, a system of dams, powerhouses and reservoirs that generates a combined 56 megawatts of renewable energy from the Sierra snowpack as it melts downstream through creeks.
Fueled by Sierra water, the Bishop Creek Hydroelectric Project creates electricity for the Eastern Sierra year-round.
Originally a member of the civil crews who support structural safety and integrity, Schmidt now operates the equipment that converts the water’s energy into electricity — fueling statewide supply and helping keep customers in Inyo and Mono counties powered, even during grid interruptions.
“During maintenance outages or Public Safety Power Shutoffs, we’re able to switch to an ‘island’ system, so even when we shut off power lines, the customers still have electricity from the hydro,” Schmidt said. “Limiting service interruptions saves a significant amount of time that goes toward inspecting power lines before they can be reenergized.”
When there is scheduled maintenance or the potential for interruptions outside SCE’s control, the Bishop Creek Mono Basin crew can separate from the transmission system and ramp up the generators to keep power flowing to more than 2,000 customers who depend on it. Earlier this year, they did just that, keeping more than 1,000 customers in Bridgeport and northern Mono County connected for two days after the Inn Fire tore through the area and damaged transmission structures.
The Bishop Creek Hydroelectric Project keeps power flowing during outages by switching to an "island" system that sustains local communities.
“The hydroelectric power generated by these plants has proved critical to keeping our communities warm, lit and in communication with the outside world during recent emergencies,” said Mono County District 3 Supervisor Paul McFarland. “A flexible grid that can be reconfigured to keep power flowing to local communities when they become isolated from the ‘big grid’ is important, especially since we live in a place where grid isolation isn’t all that rare.”
“Bishop Creek provides power resiliency unmatched by any source in the Eastern Sierra,” added Inyo County District 4 Supervisor Jen Roeser. “In a turbulent world, that reliability is deeply reassuring.”
Powered by the Sierra’s rich water supply, the “island” system can sustain customers for weeks, months or as long as needed, providing reliable service and a sense of security to communities at higher elevations — susceptible to harsh winters, when power is critical.
“We take great pride in keeping the power on; that’s what we love to do,” Schmidt said. “We work hard to maximize how many customers the generators can serve because these are our neighbors, and we want to support our community as much as possible.”
For more on SCE’s clean energy efforts, visit edison.com/cleanenergy.
