This article, provided by the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association, is the first of two articles on the restructuring of the electric utility industry in Oregon. 

Last fall the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association (ORECA) reported that the Oregon Legislature passed an electricity restructuring bill. The bill mandates that customers of investor-owned utilities such as PGE and PacifiCorp be offered direct access to electricity suppliers by October 2001. The bill did not mandate direct access for customers of consumer-owned utilities, electric cooperatives (like Salem Electric), municipal utilities and people’s utility districts. Instead, the bill clearly spelled out the statutory authority of consumer-owned utilities to maintain local control of their utilities. Because electric cooperatives are owned by the customers they serve, they have the right to determine whether they want direct access and to what extent.
      Because of the broad changes mandated for the investor-owned utilities, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), which regulates investor-owned utilities, was given the authority to decide how the changes will occur. The complexity of this sweeping change in electricity service in Oregon has required the OPUC to spend the past five months conducting discussion workshops, gathering facts and opinions about what kinds of services should be offered to each type of customer, who can provide these services, and how to foster competition among electricity providers. Consumer protection and continued financing of conservation also were topics of the workshops.
      Representatives of large industry and commercial businesses, power plant developers, consumer groups, environmental advocates and the investor-owned utilities brought ideas to these discussions. Several groups presented their vision of what Oregon’s new electricity market structure should look like. Issues ranging from whether the investor-owned utilities should be forced to sell their generation plants, to what services will be competitively offered, to who should own the electric meter, to how often customers can change electricity providers were discussed. Following these discussions, the OPUC will adopt formal administrative rules governing all these issues. Any rules which are controversial will most likely be the subject of further legislative discussion in 2001.
      You and your cooperative also were represented at these meetings by ORECA. Why should ORECA participate in these proceedings if cooperatives are not subject to this new law? 
      To start, we have an integrated transmission system in Oregon. Many cooperatives buy the use of PGE or PacifiCorp transmission lines in bringing power from the generation plants to rural communities. Any changes to the power deliveryscheduling practices and volume of business on the transmission system could affect the quality and price of those cooperatives' transmission services. 
      Another reason is that any one of Oregon’s 17 cooperatives may decide to open its service area to other power providers and compete for new customers in other geographic areas. If a cooperative decides to do that, it will become subject to certain parts of this new law. While the board of directors will still have much authority to direct how it will provide energy source choices, the co-op will have certain new requirements to fulfill. ORECA wants to make sure those requirements have minimal impact on the cost and quality of electric service.
      There are at least two other important reasons the cooperatives are involved in this arduous effort. What’s happening at the OPUC will shape Oregon’s energy future. To do the best job in providing services to cooperative members, it is important to know what is going on in the industry and to understand the perspectives of users and providers alike. Participating in this effort keeps the cooperatives on the cutting edge.
      Finally, it is important to assure that cooperative owners do not become the victims of unintended consequences. Intervening on your behalf can ensure that whatever course electricity restructuring takes, it does not inadvertently affect the costs, availability and reliability of your electric service or erode your right to govern the cooperative locally. Like every right and privilege, maintaining local control takes vigilance. Rest assured that yourelectric cooperative and the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association are "vigilantly" protecting your interests.
      For more information, you can contact Salem Electric or ORECA at (503) 585-9988.

TOP