Central Electric President/CEO to Testify at Subcommittee on Energy and Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change Hearing

Central Electric Cooperative President and CEO Dave Markham is scheduled to testify before the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change Tuesday, January 28, in Washington D.C. Markham will be among a panel of utility executives and forest management specialists speaking.

The hearing, entitled, “Out of Control: The Impact of Wildfires on Our Power Sector and the Environment,” will be held in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.  The committee, beginning at 7:00 a.m., PDT, will begin live streaming at  https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-out-of-control-the-impact-of-wildfires-on-our-power-sector.

Markham will highlight the proactive efforts Central Electric is taking to address wildfire risk, including upgrading wood poles with steel poles in heavily-forested areas and speak to the challenges of getting timely authorization to keep rights-of-ways (ROWs) cleared and maintained. Markham will also share the approach CEC is taking in collaborating with land management agencies to implement the principles of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.

Here is a copy of Markham’s testimony before the subcommittee.

Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. Background

A member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) has provided electric utility services to its members in central Oregon since 1941. At the close of 2018, CEC served 34,508 accounts held by more than 26,500 members in its 5,300 square-mile service territory in Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, and parts of Lake, Linn, Wasco, and Grant counties. CEC’s electrical system includes 24 substations and 3,957 miles of energized power lines, including 187 miles of transmission line, 2,264 miles of overhead distribution line and 1,506 miles of underground distribution line.