News

At a Crossroads

Curtis Condon Residents of Deadwood, Oregon, gather outside their post office to rally in support of it. They cluster in tight knots of humanity not only to brace against the weather, but also as a show of solidarity. They are joined by people from nearby Swisshome, Yachats and other far-flung towns who believe in their cause. Many of them face the same uncertain future. Temperatures are frigid and...

Be Safe, Not Sorry

By Hailey Hawkins The use of electricity continues to grow. At the same time, many electrical systems are more than 20 years old, often presenting wiring hazards that are both a major cause of electrocutions and home fires, killing hundreds and injuring thousands of people each year. Misuse of surge suppressors, power strips and extension cords also threatens users with electrocution or fire. Contact with power lines...

Clean AC Coils Lead to Higher Efficiency

James Dulley Q: I want my old air conditioner to run as efficiently as possible. If my cooling costs are still too high, I may replace it. What can I do to tune it up myself? A: It is wise to make sure your existing central air conditioner runs as efficiently as possible to reduce your electric bills. Because actual cooling costs depend on weather...

Lobbying for Your Interests

By Jennifer Brown Lobbyists. This single word can evoke black-and-white images of shifty-eyed businessmen in suits, making shady deals in exchange for their own personal gain. But lobbying—the process of meeting with legislators to inform them about positions on important issues—is not only a sophisticated process, it benefits members of electric cooperatives. “My job is to stay in touch with state and...

Do-It-Yourself Outdoor Lighting

James Dulley Q: I need efficient outdoor lighting by my deck and landscaping. Are low-voltage lights efficient, and what types are best? A: The big advantage of low-voltage lighting is you can install it yourself. There is a huge variety of styles and accessories available at nearly every home center and hardware store. Another advantage is safety using metal garden tools. Many gardeners accidentally cut...

Power Supply Puzzle

Mike Federman In the old days—pre-October 2011—public utilities in the Northwest bought most or all of their wholesale electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration. There were fluctuations in products based on a utility’s specific needs, but for most consumers, the federal hydro system was a reliable source of low-cost power. The good news is the hydro system is still a reliable...

Attention-Grabbing Gadgets

Mike Teegarden If you spend too much time on your couch surfing the net or watching TV, you might not be aware of some of the latest in technology that automates tasks around your home, which, well, might help you spend more time relaxing on your couch. From keeping your home comfortable and cooking quick meals to harnessing the power of the sun and fostering the next crop...

Nourishing Noshes

By Mike Teegarden Snacking is something just about everyone indulges in. Whether it is to calm cravings between meals or for a quick boost of afternoon energy, it is easy to reach for whatever is handy. That can lead to some less than ideal choices, but it doesn’t have to be that way with this assortment of snack recipes.

In-Home IQ Expands

By Megan McKoy-Noe Does your refrigerator have Wi-Fi or a door with a view? Select dishwashers self-dispense detergent and clean based on the number of dishes. And you might be surprised to learn some ovens double as refrigerators. Leave dinner in the oven in the morning, then send a text message for the oven to switch from cooling to cooking mode. “When it comes to appliances in...

The Rising Cost of Power

By Megan McKoy-Noe Thirty-five years ago, disco was king, personal computers were born and Americans needed more electricity. To meet this demand, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric utilities—in partnership with their wholesale power suppliers—built or invested in power plants, mostly coal or nuclear. Unfortunately, many of these plants may be forced to make expensive changes to meet increasing environmental regulations—and as electric demand climbs...

Leaders of Tomorrow

By Mike Federman Whoever coined the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” must have been talking about a public electric utility. Nowhere is that phrase more appropriate than in how local utilities participate in educating young people in the communities they serve and giving them opportunities to succeed they might not otherwise have access to. Utilities provide scholarships, offer job shadows, support FFA...

Nothing Says Love Like Chocolate and Cherries

By Mike Teegarden Savor the pleasure on Valentine’s Day with recipes that are sure to please. From updated classics to a gluten-free delight, these delicious creations are the perfect choice for your Valentine. There is no denying that when love is the secret ingredient, your baking will be the best. In addition to what comes from the heart, home bakers add special touches to their recipes,...

Avoid Air Invasions

By Magen Howard We all know the symptoms of a house that is leaking air. Drafty halls in winter lead to rooms that suffocate in summer. Then there is the most uncomfortable pain of all: high electric bills. Talk to an energy-efficiency expert from your local electric utility, and one of the first things he or she will do is ask about insulation in your house. What type...

2012 is the Year of the Co-op

By Megan McKoy-Noe Is it possible to change the way people eat a fruit? Could cheese unite communities? Can electricity transform the future of a country? It’s possible—with a little cooperation. The United Nations General Assembly designated 2012 as International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2012), under the banner “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World.” The resolution recognizes the vital role cooperatives—democratically governed...

Little Things Save a Lot

By Magen Howard It is easy to get overwhelmed by two words: energy efficiency. What should I do? How should I do it? Do I have to replace my entire heating and cooling system to see savings? The easy answer is no, you can do a lot of upgrading with little money. On your next trip to the home improvement or local hardware store, take this shopping guide...

Maintaining Your Budget and Waistline

By Mike Teegarden By cooking at home, you can manage your budget and, more importantly, your health and the health of your family. By carefully choosing nutritious ingredients, you can help reduce the risk for heart disease and obesity while still enjoying satisfying and delicious meals. Making good food choices will benefit you and your family for years to come.

Beyond Swirly Bulbs

By Megan McKoy-Noe Children love chasing fireflies and catching them in jars. The real magic begins as the intermittent glow captivates the captors. That same sense of wonder is found in labs as scientists refine the process of making light-emitting diodes—highly-efficient light bulbs comparable to the glow of fireflies. Manufacturers are searching for economical ways to contain a colony of LEDs in a single lighting shell....

Gifts From the Kitchen

By Mike Teegarden This year, spend a little less time in the stores and a little more time in the kitchen, baking up some holiday gifts. These tasty treats can be fun for the entire family to make together. Attach a recipe card to each gift.That way, your friends and family will know how to bake up some holiday cheer, too.

The Faces of Electric Cooperatives

By Kalie Eyman Every October, cooperatives across the country from a variety of industries celebrate cooperative month. 2012 will mark the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives. With this yearlong campaign, the United Nations hopes to increase public awareness about cooperatives and their contribution to socioeconomic development, and to encourage the support and growth of cooperatives. The International Cooperative Alliance and the United Nations strive to promote and celebrate...

Calling All Ages

By Kalie Eyman When Darlene McLeod started working for West Oregon Electric Cooperative 27 years ago, the focus of her job was much different than it is today. Despite the typical changes throughout the years, she says she still enjoys providing the best to members. The types of members involved in the co-op have different needs, and Darlene loves taking on new challenges. But providing the best to the...

The Electric Future

By Kalie Eyman Long gone are the days when car electricity came from a lead-acid battery and the only device plugged in the garage outlet was a power tool. Electric hybrid technology has come a long way in the past couple of years, and major automobile companies have caught on. The Toyota Prius has been a staple for the hybrid car movement, but the recent development by several...

A New Way of Buying Power

By Pam Blair Buying power from the Bonneville Power Administration will get more complicated for your electric utility on October 1, when BPA’s new rate design kicks in. It also will get more expensive. Costs are going up to pay for operations and maintenance. BPA’s new rate design also will differentiate between power generated from the federal system and supplemental purchases. Electricity from the network...

Making Energy More Affordable

By Pam Blair Customers in rural parts of Alaska pay three to five times more for electricity than customers in the state’s more urban areas. Other expenses are higher, too. To ensure the availability of reliable centralized power, the state’s Power Cost Equalization program pays a part of the electricity costs of qualifying customers in rural areas. The program also protects the viability of...

Electrical Hazards Can Be Frightening

By Mike Federman The decorations, fog machines, black lights and animatronics of Halloween make for adventurous, entertaining times for children and adults. With these festivities, though, the risk of fire or electrocution could be lurking around the corner. It is important to check for electrical hazards before accidents happen. Being proactive is the best way to keep Halloween from haunting you this year. Use the following tips to...

More Work Ahead

By Mike Federman A federal judge’s ruling in August on endangered fish was disappointing for public power utilities in the Northwest, but not an outright rejection of the federal biological opinion—the blueprint for salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden accepted the basic structure of the BiOp through 2013, but requested more specific information on salmon habitat restoration...

Managing Power Costs

By Magen Howard After two years of declines, the price tag for building power plants and buying utility equipment has begun to climb again—and an improving world economy and hikes in costs for skilled labor, fuel and raw materials are driving expenses up. These higher prices likely will affect your electric bill over the long term. Electric utilities have an obligation to keep the lights on...

A Windy Dilemma

By Pam Blair Imagine adding a 350-home subdivision to a 2,800-member rural electric cooperative service area that went 10 years with no new homes, and rarely adds more than a couple a year. That essentially is what faces Jerry Healy, manager of Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative, based in Heppner, Oregon. But instead of houses, wind turbines are moving into the neighborhood. Healy already has five wind projects in his...

Maintaining a Safe Home

Compiled by Pam Blair Each May, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) sponsors National Electrical Safety Month to increase public awareness of electrical hazards around us. Check the following areas: The Heart of the Home The kitchen is where families gather to cook favorite recipes, share meals and reconnect. It also is where two-thirds of home fires start. Keep your stove, oven and exhaust hood clean. Keep the...

The Generation Gap

By Magen Howard Tighter government regulations—and the high cost to comply with new rules—may signal lights-out for many of the nation’s older coal-fired power plants at a time when forecasters predict energy demand will eventually outpace supply. "Americans could see power shortages by the end of the decade if new generation sources don’t materialize," cautions Glenn English, CEO of the...

Low-Impact Entertainment

By Mike Federman In the world of television electronics, change came quickly. Analog TV sets, in homes since the 1940s, became obsolete in 2009 without a digital convertor. Television makers now entice consumers with claims of high definition, surround sound and multimedia compatibility. Bigger screen, better picture, more options—and more energy consumption. High-definition TV sets generally use more power because of better picture clarity. Energy consumption also...

High-Wire Act

By Mike Federman Anyone who has driven through the Columbia River Gorge in the past couple of years can attest to the rapidly changing landscape, as wind turbines have sprouted like rabbitbrush on both sides of the river. Turbines not only have been raised along the river, but also on rolling hills and through canyons for several miles north and south of the river in Washington and Oregon. ...

Incredible Shrinking Credits

By Pam Blair Did you plan to make energy-efficiency improvements to your home during 2010, but procrastinated so long you lost out on the maximum $1,500 federal tax credit that expired on December 31? The good news is you still have a chance to cash in on federal energy tax credits, thanks to an extension by the outgoing U.S. Congress. The bad news is amounts have shrunk dramatically. With electricity...

Heat Pump Water Heaters

By Alice Clamp and Pam Blair Cold showers aren’t a pleasant way to start the day. Hot water plays a big role in cooking and cleaning, too. As a result, water heating has become the second-largest user of energy in an average home, accounting for about 20 percent of residential energy consumption. To save energy, consumers have wrapped water heaters in blankets or hot water pipes in...

Living Out Its Commitment

By Pam Blair Commitment to community is more than rhetoric for public utilities. It defines who they are, and is evidence of how they are different from other types of businesses. Below are a few ways they and their employees add value beyond providing electricity to the communities served. Big Bend Electric Cooperative, Ritzville, Washington—Employees and family members participated in seven community parades and are involved...

Space Heating: An Eye Toward Safety and Efficiency

By Pam Blair An electric space heater can be an excellent source of supplemental heat for your home, increasing your comfort during cold months—especially in chilly garages, basements, workshops and other areas that may not have central heating. But don’t blindly accept some manufacturers’ claims that they can significantly cut a home’s heating bill. Understand the advantages as well as the...

Save Energy With Layered Bathroom Lighting

By James Dulley People don’t often think about lighting and energy efficiency when remodeling bathrooms, but it is as important as installing proper plumbing fixtures. If the lighting in your bathrooms is like most older bathrooms, it consists of an overhead light, perhaps built into a vent fan, if there is no window. If there is a window in the bathroom, few builders went to the...

Bright Idea Still Glows

Moving Toward ‘Green’

By Mike Federman Today, more than 80 percent of our nation’s 900-plus co-ops and other publicly-owned electric utilities provide electricity produced by green power sources. By tapping resources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass—including landfill gas, livestock waste, timber byproducts and crop residue—electric co-ops nationally get 11 percent of their power requirements from renewable sources, compared with 9 percent for electric utilities as...

A Clear View On Windows

The best windows improve a home's energy efficiency and its comfort Windows provide ventilation, light and warmth, but also can drive up your electric bill. Efficient windows can reduce heating, cooling and even lighting costs, while improving overall comfort. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the best window glazings today insulate almost four times as well as the best commonly available windows 20 years ago. In...

A Home Buyer’s Guide

By Pam Blair When designing and building a new home, attention to energy-efficiency details matter. Good decisions will reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, adding up to decreased utility bills and increased comfort. More than 1 million homes in the United States have been built to Energy Star standards since the program began labeling homes in 1995. Families living in Energy Star-qualified homes will save more than $270 million this...

Senate Climate Bills Seek Cleaner Future

Despite different pathways, proposals claim emissions can be significantly reduced In a contentious midterm election year, U.S. senators are debating climate legislation on many fronts. Political pundits joining the fray have predicted Senate legislation could be approved anytime from this summer to long after the election is over. For several months, Sens. John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham—a Democrat, Independent and Republican, respectively&mdash...

Rights of Way Are Not Roadways

By Mike Federman Imagine going to work and finding your workspace cluttered with debris: stacks of other people’s paper, office furniture blocking your computer, heavy industrial bins jammed in front of your power tools or farm equipment, electronics broken and in need of repair. Before you can begin the workday, you have to rearrange everything and make repairs, possibly causing injury in the process, but certainly...

Pack Up Energy Savings

When taking a vacation, do you think about giving your meter a break, too? It’s easy to forget about conserving electricity when you and your family pack up the car to head off on vacation or a lengthy trip. But if you don’t think about it before you leave, you could face an unpleasant—even irritating—surprise when you return. While it...

April 30th - Due to tree removal in the Creek View Lane area tomorrow there will be an outage from 9am to 2:30 pm. Thank you.
April 27th - The Elsie substation work will continue this morning. The Elsie Area will experience a short outage sometime between 10 am and 11 am.
April 27th - The afternoon outage in the Elsie area yesterday did not happen. Instead there will be a short outage this morning between 10 and 11 am.