The city of Banks plans to conduct a feasibility study to provide the Banks City Council with a cost analysis for removing utility poles on Main Street and submerging those power lines underground.
utilities
Banks City Council eyes burying
Past-due PGE customers may qualify for matching grant to pay bills
Power lines near Forest Grove. File photo: Chas Hundley Portland General Electric sent an email to some customers on March 10 announcing it will match customer’s payments on past-due balances between April 1 and June 30. “It’s been a tough year, but you’re not alone in dealing with your past-due[Read More…]
West Oregon Electric Co-op prices increasing Jan. 1
West Oregon Electric Co-op offices in Vernonia. Photo: Chas Hundley Beginning in the new year, members of the West Oregon Electric Co-op (WOEC) will see an increase in their electricity bills. In a letter to the WOEC membership, the co-op noted that, after a decision by the co-op’s board of[Read More…]
Is fiber coming to rural western Washington County? Perhaps, says Ziply
Ziply’s current broadband network in northwest Oregon. Blue is broadband, green is fiber. Photo courtesy Ziply website The rural portions of Washington County have always struggled to gain access to high speed internet, with some regions solely relying on satellite or microwave options, while others are on copper lines now[Read More…]
Goodbye Frontier, hello Ziply
A Frontier Communications truck in downtown Gales Creek. Photo: Chas Hundley OREGON – Frontier Communications officially completed the sale of their operations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana on Friday to the company now known as Ziply Fiber. The deal closed at $1.35 billion, according to Ziply, which is headquartered[Read More…]
Utility companies could charge Oregon ratepayers for electric vehicle infrastructure improvements under proposed HB 4066
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley SALEM – House Bill 4066, a prospective law that passed on a 7-2 vote that would allow the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) to provide electric companies with the ability to recover costs for electric vehicle investments from ratepayers, passed the[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: Sen. Wyden Supported Rural Oregon
The West Oregon Electric Co-op offices in Vernonia. Photo: Chas Hundley Thank you to Senator Ron Wyden for listening to Oregon’s electric cooperatives and fighting tirelessly to add important legislation to the 2020 spending bill. The bill included a provision known as the RURAL Act, which protects electric cooperatives from[Read More…]
911 service restored in Washington County
Power lines near Forest Grove. File photo: Chas Hundley WASHINGTON COUNTY – Service for landlines with the 357, 359, and 992 prefix has been restored after an earlier 911 outage, according Forest Grove Fire & Rescue. The restoration came at 12:52 p.m., according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, and[Read More…]
Power outages in Timber, Buxton, Banks areas, 911 outage for some homes
A downed power line in Gales Creek. Photo: Chas Hundley BUXTON – High winds and soaking rain have already taken their toll during this weekend’s flood watch: Power outages throughout the region, from multiple causes, have impacted customers of Portland General Electric and West Oregon Electric Co-op in Timber, Buxton,[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: Rural Oregon at Risk
The West Oregon Electric Co-op offices in Vernonia. Photo: Chas Hundley For the past 75 years Oregon’s electric cooperatives like West Oregon Electric Cooperative have provided our members affordable, reliable electricity. Sometimes that’s not easy. WOEC experienced four FEMA events in the last 6 years, leaving consumers without power, causing[Read More…]
