UEC sold over 7 billion kWh for the first time in its history, a 20% increase from the previous year. This is the equivalent of serving 650,000 average American households for an entire year. 327,815 feet of line were installed in 2023, with August being the busiest month with 76,087 feet of line in that month alone.
Many of these installations helped to serve new homes and subdivisions in the Boardman, Hermiston, Umatilla, and Stanfield areas. Beyond these new homes, though, the services in 2023 varied greatly – pump stations, cell towers, storage buildings, water wells, a cattle scale, and even a few food trucks.
UEC crews continued an 8-year underground conductor replacement program for cable that is over 30 years old and due for replacement. With this continuation, nearly 4 miles were replaced in 2023 alone and since 2020, UEC has replaced over 16 miles with another 4 scheduled in 2024. This program is a preventative measure aimed at reducing outages that may be caused by aged underground conductors.
In 2023, UEC crews successfully replaced over 1,200 advanced fuses in the high fire-danger areas of UEC’s service territory. These new fuses help to suppress any flames or sparks when activated, to better protect the system and mitigate the potential for wildfire.
The high side of the Power City substation north of Hermiston was expanded to allow for 115kV (kilovolt) transmission lines to flow in and out of the substation, tying into UEC’s existing 115kV facilities in the area. Power City is an existing distribution substation within UEC’s system that provides power to many members in Umatilla, Hermiston, and the surrounding areas. Originally built in 1999, the station has been providing reliable service for 23 years.
