OPUDA -

Map of Oregon Utilities
Consumer-Owned, and Investor-Owned Utilities

Oregon Map of Congressional Districts and Consumer-Owned Utilities
Oregon Congressional District map overlay of Consumer-Owned Utilities

Oregon Map of Senate Legislative Districts and PUD Districts
Oregon Legislative Senate District map overlay of PUD Districts

Oregon Map of House Legislative Districts and PUD Districts
Oregon Legislative House District map overlay of PUD Districts

Historically, the PUDs in Oregon purchased all of their power from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). BPA went online in 1937, with the mandate to provide low-cost hydropower to the people of the Pacific Northwest.

Since that time, some public utilities in Oregon have built their own generation facilities to produce some of the power they need. And some have gone to wholesale suppliers other than BPA for some of their power.

But it's fair to say that most Oregon public utilities still get most of their power from BPA. The region-wide, and nationwide, markets for electricity are changing, though. Bonneville is under tremendous pressure to provide money for salmon enhancement, provide low-cost power for direct service industries, share the benefits of the Federal hydro system with IOUs, and many other issues that all cost money. That tends to drive their prices up.

Other electricity suppliers, including privately-owned and foreign-owned, are not under those same economic pressures. That helps to keep their prices down.

The result is that the market for wholesale electricity is a lot more competitive, and a lot more volatile. How that will affect publicly-owned utilities in the future is certainly not clear.

Existing non-BPA Resources

Clatskanie PUD - Hydro, 18 MW; Steam Cogeneration 36 MW (jointly with Eugene Water & Electric Board); Gas Turbine 11 MW
Emerald PUD - Landfill methane generation, 4 MW
Northern Wasco County PUD - Small hydro - 5 MW & 10 MW
Tillamook PUD - Dairy methane generation, 0.3 MW

Non-BPA Resources Under Consideration

Central Lincoln PUD - Cogeneration
Emerald PUD - Wind generation

Benefits to Communities
Information on the property taxes, franchise fees and annual payroll of Oregon's six electric PUDs

Conservation - Public Purposes
Total expenditures for conservation and renewable energy projects for Oregon's six electric PUDs

Operating Data & Statistics
Statistics for Oregon's electric PUDs

2010 Meeting Dates

January 15
February 19
March 19
May 14
July 9
September 17
November 19

All meetings are held at the Special Districts Building, 727 Center Street NE, First Floor, Salem, Oregon unless otherwise noted.

2010 Annual Meeting

October 18-20
Columbia River PUD Host
Location: Red Lion Inn & Suites - McMinnville, Oregon

Registration Materials

Annual Conference Brochure
Annual Conference Registration Form

For information about meetings, contact:

Joan Green
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
(503) 370-4413

May 20, 2010

Blueprint for Oregon 's Energy Future

October 5, 2009 - Press Release

The Oregon People's Utility District Association Celebrates Seven Decades of Public Power And Green Energy for Oregon Communities

2009 OPUDA Officers

President: Carol Everman, Columbia River PUD
President-Elect: Bob Wiggins, Clatskanie PUD
Past President: Katherine Schacht, Emerald PUD
Secretary/Treasurer: Ron Benfield, Central Lincoln PUD

2009 OPUDA Board of Directors

Curt Abbott, Central Lincoln PUD
Greg Booth, Clatskanie PUD
Patti Chappel, Emerald PUD
Carol Everman, Columbia River PUD
Howard Gonser, Northern Wasco County PUD
Ed Jenkins, Tillamook PUD
Ken Phillips, Tillamook PUD
Katherine Schacht, Emerald PUD
Milt Skov, Northern Wasco County PUD
Loren Tarbell, Columbia River PUD
Bob Wiggins, Clatskanie PUD

Joan Green
Executive Assistant
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Telephone: (503) 370-4413

Fax: (503) 370-4451

Address:
727 Center Street, NE
Salem, OR 97301

Industry Links

Electric PUDs

Water PUDs

Chenowith PUD
Harbor PUD
Interlachen PUD
McNulty PUD
Rockwood PUD

Power Links

Associate Members

OPUDA Affiliates

Congressional Links

State Government Links

Differences between Public and Private Utilities

Put in the simplest terms, private ownership of electric utilities is a business, and the purpose of any business is to make a profit for the owners or stockholders. Public ownership of electric utilities is a service, and the purpose of that service is to provide electricity, at the least cost, for the customers of that utility. Public utilities are non-profit organizations whose facilities are owned by, and operated for, their customers. They are governed by locally-elected Boards of Directors.

Private or investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are for-profit corporations, whose facilities are owned by shareholders, and whose private Boards operate solely to provide a profit for those shareholders. Shareholders have little or no direct stake in the quality of service provided.

Local control and the lack of a profit motive are the defining characteristics that separate public power from the private utility industry. Because members of the public can buy shares of private utilities, IOUs are sometimes referred to as being 'publicly held" or as "public utilities," but the term "public" is more appropriately applied to consumer-owned utilities. Consumer-owned utilities can be People's Utility Districts, Municipal Utilities, or Electric Co-operatives.

Nationwide, public power rates are generally lower than IOU rates, sometimes by 20-25%. Couple that with local control, and it's easy to see why public power is becoming increasingly popular.

The Oregon PUD Association is an alliance of Oregon's PUDs devoted to furthering the cause of public ownership and control of critical utility services; together they serve about 10% of the state's electricity needs. We strive to accomplish the following:

Retain all aspects of "Local Control" as the governing principle on all matters related to state and federal issues that may impact our customers.
Provide excellent service and energy programs to meet our customers' needs.
Preserve the concepts of "public preference" to power generated on public waterways.
Provide leadership in the legislative process on matters of mutual concern, interest and benefit.
Preserve the opportunity for additional people in Oregon to be served by Public Power utilities.
Provide for member development through an educational program designed to organize and communicate information about the issues facing Public Power.
Raise the level of understanding of the purpose and merits of Public Power through the education of all Oregonians.

Oregon PUD Association Lobbyist:

The Romain Group LLC
Paul Romain: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Danelle Romain: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
(503) 226-8090

The Mission of the Oregon People’s Utility District Association is to influence state legislation and regulation to benefit the customer-owners of Oregon people’s utility districts, and provide focus on related interests of its member PUDs.

History of OPUDA

The Oregon People’s Utility District Association (OPUDA) grew out of an informal organization formed in 1982. The association became an active, full-time non-profit association in 1984.

In 1982 the membership of the OPUDA consisted of four operating PUDs in Oregon: Central Lincoln PUD, Clatskanie PUD, Northern Wasco County PUD and Tillamook PUD. In 1984, Emerald PUD and Columbia River PUD became operational and joined the association. Two water PUDs became operational and are also association members.

The purpose of the association was to provide a forum for the member districts to discuss national, regional, state and local issues of common concern and to formulate positions on those issues.

In 1984, the six PUDs represented nearly 6 percent of the electric customers in Oregon. They sold 8.6 percent of the electricity consumed in Oregon. The PUDs were slightly larger than the Oregon cooperatives and a bit smaller than Oregon’s 10 municipally-owned systems. The six PUDs held 7.8 percent of the market power sales.

History of PUDs in Oregon

In the late 1920s, some residents of Oregon had access to electricity and some didn’t. Investor-owned utility would not extend service to rural areas.

In 1930, thanks to the efforts of farmers, Granges, and rural customers, the voters of Oregon passed a measure allowing the formation of publicly owned and operated utilities. In 1931, the Oregon Legislature implemented it with the adoption of ORS 261.

With the advent of the Bonneville Power Administration in 1937, the people had a viable alternative to the existing power companies, and in the 1940s, four People’s Utility Districts were formed in Oregon: Central Lincoln PUD, Clatskanie PUD, Northern Wasco County PUD and Tillamook PUD. Two more were formed in the 1980s (Columbia River PUD and Emerald PUD) in response to increasingly high electricity rates from the existing investor-owned utilities.

The advantages of public ownership of utilities are obvious. PUDs have consistently offered electricity at rates that are substantially lower than investor-owned utilities. Having a locally-elected Board of Directors makes PUDs more responsive to local needs. And the assets that grow with the utility stay in the local community.

Featured Associate Member

Would you like to be highlighted as a Featured Associate Member? Contact us today for more details.

To become an Associate Member of the Association see the forms below:

Associate Member Invitation

Associate Member Application Form

Annual Conference

October 18-20, 2010

2010 Annual Conference

Registration Materials