We are in the process of updating the maps below.  In the meantime, click here to visit the BPA website Publications page. 

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

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

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

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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

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

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Operating Data & Statistics
Statistics for Oregon's electric PUDs

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PNUCC - System Planning Committee Bibliography

• West of Cascades North Path Curtailment and Congestion Management Lessons Learned
• Exploring the Impacts of California's Renewable Portfolio Standard
• Reserves in Capacity Planning, A Northwest Approach
• Capabilities of Electric Power Resources
• Sorting out Regional Demand-Side Management

PNUCC - Communication Committee Bibliography

• How Northwest Electric Utilities Educate their Communities

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Washington PUD Association

• Pacific Northwest Prism: Regional Electric Generation and Greenhouse Gas Reduction

2012 Meeting Dates

Board of Directors Meetings

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings will begin at 9:30 am in the first floor conference room of the Special Districts Building located at 727 Center Street NE, in Salem, Oregon.

• January 20
• February 17
• March 16
• April 20
• May 11
• June 15
• July 20
• August 17
• September 26-28*
• October 19
• November 16
• December 21

*Tillamook PUD will host the Annual Meeting September 26-28 in Pacific City, Oregon. Check back before the conference to download a brochure and registration form.

Download the 2012 Meeting Dates by clicking here.

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2011 Annual Meeting

The 2011 Annual Meeting, hosted by Central Lincoln PUD, took place October 19-21 in Yachats.

"Thank You!" to our generous sponsors:

Platinum
Barker Uerlings Insurance | Sponsor of the President's Welcome Reception
EES Consulting | Sponsor of the President's Gala Reception & Banquet
IVG Energy | Sponsor of the First Annual Nicola Tesla Memorial Golf Tournament

Gold
A. Dashen & Associates
Ater Wynne LLP
Cable Huston Benedict Haagensen & Lloyd LLP, Attorneys
Gen-Pac
K&L Gates
Macpherson, Gintner & Diaz
McDowell Rackner & Gibson PC
Wilson-Heirgood Associates

Silver
NWPPA
Ruralite
SDAO

Bronze
McFarland Cascade
The Romain Group, LLC

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

2012 OPUDA Officers

Doug Olson,  Tillamook PUD - President
Howard Gonser, Northern Wasco County PUD - President-Elect
Curt Abbott, Central Lincoln PUD - Past-President
Ron Benfield, Secretary/Treasurer

2012 OPUDA Board of Directors

Central Lincoln PUD
Larkin Kaliher
Alternate: Tom Tymchuk

Columbia River PUD
Dave Baker
Loren Tarbell

Emerald PUD
Bruce Pilling
Penny Jordan
Alternate: Bill Tanner

Northern Wasco County PUD
Howard Gonser
Clay Smith
Alternate: Dan Williams

Tillamook PUD
Ken Phillips
Ed Jenkins
Alternate: Barbara Trout

Melissa High
info@opuda.org

Telephone: (503) 370-4413

Fax: (503) 371-4781

Address:
727 Center Street NE
Salem, OR 97301

Industry Links

Electric PUDs

• Central Lincoln PUD
• Clatskanie PUD
• Columbia River PUD
• Emerald PUD
• Northern Wasco County PUD
• Tillamook PUD

Water PUDs

• Chenowith PUD
• Harbor PUD
• Interlachen PUD
• McNulty PUD
• Rockwood PUD

Power Links

• Bonneville Power Administration
• American Public Power Association
• Northwest Power And Conservation Council
• Northwest Public Power Association
• Public Power Council

Associate Members

• AAC Utility Partners LLC
• Cable Huston
• D. Hittle & Associates, Inc.
• Dashen Musselman
• General Pacific, Inc.
• H.J. Arnett Industries LLC
• K&L Gates LLP
• Macpherson Gintner & Diaz
• National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)
• Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
• Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• Piper Jaffray
• Powerex Corp
• Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation
• Special Districts Association of Oregon
• TriAxis Engineering, Inc.
• Wilson-Heirgood Associates

OPUDA Affiliates

• Northwest Requirements Utilities
• Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• PNGC Power
• Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee
• Ruralite
• Washington PUD Association
• Energy Ideas Clearinghouse

Congressional Links

• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House of Representatives

State Government Links

• Oregon State Legislature
• Oregon Blue Book
• Oregon Public Utility Commission
• Oregon Administrative Rules
• Oregon Revised Statues
• ORS 261
• Oregon Housing & Community Services
• State Agencies Web Pages

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: promain@theromaingroup.com
Danelle Romain: dromain@theromaingroup.com
(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.

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.