We are ready to respond quickly if we have an incident. On a daily basis, we have access to information clearinghouses on potential threats that help keep us aware, on guard, and prepared. Our physical property is a public asset, and we encourage anyone who sees suspicious activity around a substation or other plant to call police or our 24-hour call center.
Ask the General Manager
The hydro system is extremely beneficial to our region. We’ve taken the same approach for the past 25 years – we support scientifically sound efforts that are coordinated with a wide range of Northwest governments, tribes, and agencies, to restore salmon runs. We oppose needless or unproven measures that purport to help salmon and steelhead – such as calls to increase spill, or efforts to breach the Snake River dams or draw down the reservoirs. A good overview of issues affecting the hydro system can be found on the Northwest River Partners website. You may also sign up for email alerts from us on this issue at the Oreca Action website.
Like many Northwest utilities, UEC has been approached by cryptocurrency mining operations inquiring about the price and availability of power. The reason these companies consume so much electricity is that producing each new bitcoin requires solving a complex mathematical puzzle by computer.
Under Oregon law, we are obliged to serve any load that is willing to abide by our policies.
For our part, new loads on our system, and expansions by existing members, are responsible for the infrastructure costs of serving them power, often paying in advance for their impact on the system.
This policy helps mitigate risk to the membership, minimizes the impact of growth, and ensures that one sector of our membership does not unfavorably impact the other sectors.
In summary, new operations joining our cooperative will not affect our power availability, overtax our system, or increase your rates.
Wages and benefits for UEC employees totaled about 9 percent of our expenses during the past year.
Our largest expense? Nearly 75 percent of the revenues we received last year went to purchasing wholesale power.
Copper theft is on the rise nationwide, and we have been targeted on several occasions in the past year.
Copper theft is a dangerous crime. It can cause a power outage or fire, it increases the cost of your cooperative, and worst of all, it puts lives at risk.
The lives at risk are many – the thieves stealing the copper, a child or pet who wanders through a hole cut into a substation fence, or a lineworker coming into contact with ungrounded equipment.
Contact our 24-hour call center at (888) 465-5701 if you see suspicious activity, such as an unmarked vehicle around a substation, utility lines, or other field equipment. Your action could protect the reliability of your utility service and you may even save a life.