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Keeping Reliability Strong While Managing Costs
Many Central Oregonians continue to face financial pressures, and no one welcomes rate adjustments.
As a not-for-profit, member-owned electric utility, we at Central Electric Cooperative understand the strain rate adjustments can put on household budgets. We are doing all we can to keep electricity safe, reliable, and affordable for the members we serve.
Last October, in the President’s Message, I shared with you that rate adjustments were needed. Rather than have members bear the brunt of these pass-through costs all at once, we opted to spread them over multiple years to help moderate the financial impact.
Effective Oct. 1, members will see the second installment, an approximate 9.6% rate revenue adjustment, reflected on their November bills.
Even after this adjustment, CEC’s residential members using the average amount of electricity will pay nearly 22% less than a comparable customer of the local investor-owned utility.
This past year, we focused on managing and controlling costs, operating efficiently and extending the useful life of equipment where practical, while also investing in substations, poles, wires and technology to deliver safe, reliable power to members’ homes, businesses, farms and ranches.
The primary drivers behind this adjustment are straightforward: wildfire mitigation efforts, infrastructure improvements, and increased power supply to meet Central Oregon’s rapid growth. We buy nearly all our power from Bonneville Power Administration and must buy additional power beyond our lower-cost federal hydropower allocation.
At the same time, a federal court injunction affecting the federal Columbia River hydropower operations may require BPA to buy on the open market replacement electricity that is more expensive and carbon-intensive.
What is CEC doing about it? We are taking constructive steps to secure additional long-term energy supplies to reduce our exposure to higher-cost market power.
Through our generation and transmission cooperative, PNGC Power, we have secured long-term power purchase agreements for additional wind and solar generation and continue to evaluate other potential renewable resources.
We are also exploring local solutions, including a 40-megawatt solar facility paired with battery storage through PNGC in Central Oregon, which would help stabilize power and transmission costs for our members.
We know this adjustment will be difficult for some members. Energy-efficiency programs and rebates are available to help reduce energy use, improve home comfort, and offset costs. Members can learn more on our website or speak with an energy services representative at (541) 548-2144.
As your member-owned cooperative, we will continue working to control costs, plan responsibly for growth, and deliver the safe and reliable electricity you depend on.
President and CEO Brad Wilson