Related News
Related News
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EWEB opens application for 2024 Electric Mobility Community Grants
Grant awards of up to $30,000 to cover costs associated with electric mobility projects.
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The Big Freeze 2024: After Action Report
Winter 2024 was one for the records books, and we'll look back on it for years to come and say, "That was a doozy!" The back-to-back January Ice Storms caused widespread damage to EWEB’s service territory, affecting approximately 38,000 customers. Preliminary repair costs were over $8 million, and additional repairs to transmission lines are still required.
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Fixing the Unseen: Water Pipeline Replacement in Unincorporated Eugene
Learn more about EWEB's methods for monitoring and replacing aged water pipelines.
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Spring Cleaning? How about Spring Emergency Preparedness!
Spring is officially here and that means the plants are blooming, the sun is (sometimes) shining, and the grass is green! We've had our fair share of severe weather already, but spring weather is notoriously unpredictable. While you're in the midst of spring cleaning and garden care, consider completing these emergency preparedness tasks.
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EWEB General Manager Delivers 2024 State of the Utility
General Manager Frank Lawson delivered his address at the March 5 public Board of Commissioners meeting
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Nine days without power: My ice storm story as an EWEB customer and employee
While beautiful and peaceful, buying a home on the edge of the forest and surrounded by trees has its tradeoffs. Moving “upriver,” I knew there would be more threats to prepare for, including Mother Nature’s seasonal surprises.
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EWEB achieves power restoration milestone over the weekend
Crews have so far restored power for 92% of customers who originally lost power at the height of the ice storm.
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Reenergized McKenzie River Valley transmission lines allow EWEB crews to restore power upriver
On Friday, a majority of EWEB crews tackled power restoration efforts upriver, after federally managed transmission lines were reenergized Thursday.
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EWEB estimates one week to complete power system restoration
On Wednesday, EWEB crews restored power for about 10,000 customers by repairing large equipment first.
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Second round of ice and ensuing thaw prompt mass power outages
On Wednesday, all EWEB crews, who have been working nonstop since Saturday, traversed EWEB’s service territory assessing the damage and restoring transmission lines and main power feeders.
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Power restored at EWEB’s water treatment plant
Crews restored electric power at EWEB's Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant Monday evening, allowing operators to switch off the generators and rely again on the grid. Meanwhile, EWEB crews brace for additional outages amidst second round of ice and during the coming thaw.
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EWEB crews making downed lines safe and restoring power across Eugene and the foothills
As EWEB works to restore electric service to customers affected by the ice storm, the customer-owned utility is following established policies and its “hierarchy of repair” to prioritize repairs that restore electric service to the greatest number of customers.
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Leaburg Decommissioning Action Plan
Plan details next steps through regulatory processes to begin dismantling Leaburg Dam by 2032.
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What’s ahead in 2024: General manager’s message to EWEB customer-owners
At the start of the new year, we back at accomplishments from 2023 and look ahead at what's to come in 2024.
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Currin Substation: End of year update
EWEB Engineer Philip Peterson explains what's been happening in the final stretch to complete the substation rebuild.
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Recovery Moves Forward at EWEB
April 30, 2021
As we continue to recover from the personal, professional, and financial impacts of the coronavirus, EWEB has started sunsetting some of the pandemic relief programs we put in place in March 2020.
Starting May 1, we will resume regular service charges including the $5 late fee on past due balances.
During the early phases of the pandemic, we immediately implemented short-term crisis programs for customers. The pandemic relief programs included temporarily suspending service disconnections and late fees for past due bills, expanding eligibility for EWEB Customer Care bill credits to include those who were unemployed due to the pandemic, and increasing funding for the bill assistance program.
In mid-2020, we began shifting from crisis response to recovery, by offering extended repayment plans with no interest or fees. In August, we resumed standard disconnection procedures for those customers who were behind on their bills and had not enrolled in a repayment plan.
With more people in our community receiving vaccines, workplaces returning to a new normal, and the economy starting to recover, EWEB is winding down remaining programs to ensure the long-term financial health of the utility.
As of May 1, collection fees will be reinstated, and the residential repayment plan is no longer available. The commercial repayment plan will be available for a few more months.
As a customer-owned nonprofit utility, EWEB is not able to continue the expanded assistance programs indefinitely, nor can we simply waive past-due balances. Equity for all customers must be considered in these decisions, and we cannot continue to ask some of our customers to subsidize their neighbors.
Fortunately, EWEB entered this crisis in a strong financial position, after several years of efforts to become more efficient, lower operating costs, and reduce debt. Residential electric prices will not increase due to the extraordinary aid extended during the pandemic, and EWEB's financial health will remain in a secure position. Thanks in part to a healthy financial standing, EWEB is able to increase the Customer Care bill assistance amount from $260 to $280, effective May 1, and to continue other programs, such as incentives to install efficiency improvements that reduce monthly utility bills.
Customers experiencing hardship should contact EWEB. Staff members are available to review accounts and determine what options are available to support you. Our Customer Care program will continue undergoing regular reviews.
Our customer service team is available at 541-685-7000 to help with any questions or assistance needed from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more updates and information, visit our COVID-19 information page.