
Electric Outage: 1-844-484-2300
Water Emergency: 541-685-7595
EWEB Main: 541-685-7000
EWEB customers use more than twice as much water in the hot, dry summer months, compared to the cold, rainy winter months. The higher summer water use can almost assuredly be attributed to customers watering their lawns and gardens.
Find Out MoreThe EWEB Board of Commissioners meet on the first Tuesday of the month.
Find Out MoreTo maintain the reliability customers have come to know and trust, EWEB must address an aging infrastructure bubble.
Find Out MoreGreenpower Grants, a program funded by voluntary Greenpower customer subscriptions is currently accepting applications. The grant will fund a high-impact project that increase the use of renewable energy sources, the adoption of emerging technologies, clean energy education and reduce or offset our community's carbon footprint.
Find Out MoreEugene is one of the largest cities on the west coast with only a single source of drinking water, the McKenzie River. And though the McKenzie is a pure, reliable water source, EWEB will secure a second source ensure resiliency in the future, planning to build a water treatment plant on the Willamette River, upstream of Eugene and Springfield.
Find Out MoreFor the past year, EWEB’s electric division has been preparing for a complete reconstruction of the Currin substation. Quite simply, it’s reached the end of its useful life.
Find Out MoreEWEB has awarded nearly $125,000 in grant funds to local organizations that promote electric mobility and reduce community carbon emissions.
Find Out MoreYou may have noticed a plaque along the sidewalk on East 4th Avenue near the entrance to the employee parking lot at EWEB’s former headquarters building. It commemorates Wiley Griffon. He’s not considered the first Black resident of Eugene. But he is the first one mentioned by name, according to scholars.
Find Out MoreWorld Pulses Day is celebrated on February 10, and is a day to celebrate and spread information on the environmental and personal health benefits of pulses, aka beans, peas and lentils.
Find Out MoreIn January, our elected Board of Commissioners approved an agreement for EWEB to make an unprecedented bulk purchase of substation transformers.
Find Out MoreAt EWEB, we do what we can to help others in need. That’s been the reality for several of our electric and water crews over the past few weeks as we’ve responded to mutual aid requests for storm response and drinking water restoration, locally, and out of state.
Find Out MoreDespite an ice storm and a few windstorms in Eugene and the McKenzie Valley in the past few weeks, EWEB has so far fended off widespread weather-caused power outages – largely because of investments in year-round system maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
Find Out MoreEWEB makes electric mobility available to anyhone though e-bike rebates, car sharing and grants for local organizations with electric mobility projects.
Find Out MoreEnergy Efficiency tips to help you reduce your energy usage for National Cut your Energy Costs Day
Find Out MoreCommissioners unanimously voted to approve a Record of Decision endorsing the General Manager's Recommendation to decommission the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project and approved Resolution 2302 directing the GM to develop a Leaburg Hydroelectric Project Decommissioning Action Plan
Find Out MoreJune 13, 2017
We are fortunate to have one of the cleanest power portfolios in the nation, with almost no electricity sourced from fossil fuels. How much do you know about our community's primary power resource—clean, renewable hydropower?
We have a lot to appreciate here in Eugene, from our beautiful parks and open spaces, to world class sports, great craft beer, clean water, and beautiful weather (well, for at least a few months of the year). When you think of all the things that make Eugene a great place to live, one thing you might not immediately consider is our energy source. If you are an EWEB customer, you're experiencing the benefits of hydropower, maybe without even realizing it.
Our beautiful local rivers not only support diverse recreation, vibrant farms, and abundant fish and wildlife, but they also are our primary source of clean, reliable and affordable energy.
Hydropower is a form of renewable energy that uses water stored in dams, or flowing in rivers, to create electricity. Falling or flowing water spins a turbine, activating a generator that converts the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to be used by homes and businesses.
Nearly 80 percent of Eugene's power comes from hydroelectric projects.
EWEB customers own or co-own four such projects: Leaburg, Stone Creek, Walterville and Carmen-Smith. The Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project, located 70 miles east of Eugene on the upper McKenzie River is our largest utility-owned power source, and has reliably served Eugene with low-cost hydropower since 1963.
Carmen-Smith helps us manage electricity prices because the generator can ramp up and down to meet our customers' peak energy needs. In other words, Carmen-Smith operates when our community needs power the most and when buying that power on the wholesale market would be most expensive.
Our region's hydroelectric plants are valuable also as a carbon-free generation resource. Because it's fueled by water, the Northwest's hydroelectric power base does not produce air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to hydropower, the region is able to avoid the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 10 million cars. That means we're all breathing easier thanks to the clean air benefits of hydropower.
Resiliency is another key benefit of our local hydro generation projects. We are working on building a 'resilient spine' in our electric transmission system. The idea is to enable us to move power from local generating resources to critical facilities, such as hospitals and public safety agencies, in an emergency. With about 110 MW of capacity, reliable and locally-controlled Carmen-Smith plays a significant role in this concept.
This month, we're joining Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other Pacific Northwest utilities that use hydropower in promoting Hydropower Flows Here, an education and information campaign about the various attributes of this renewable, clean, reliable source of electricity that powers nearly 60 percent of Northwest homes and businesses. Here are some interesting hydro facts from BPA:
Hydropower is efficient. Hydropower plants at dams convert about 90 percent of the energy in falling water into electrical energy. By comparison, fossil-fueled plants lose more than half of the energy content of their fuel as waste heat and gases.
Hydropower is secure. Water from our rivers is largely a domestic resource that is not subject to disruptions from foreign suppliers, cost fluctuations in power markets, international political crises or transportation outages.
Hydropower is flexible. By adjusting the amount of water flowing through the dams, hydropower can be increased or decreased very quickly to meet changes in demand for power. This meets a fundamental requirement of all electric grids, which is that demand must exactly match supply at all times to keep the system stable.
Hydropower allows for the growth of other renewable resources. Hydropower is a great "back-up" for wind and solar power. For example, it can be ramped up to meet demand when the wind is not blowing, and dialed down at times of high winds.
Hydropower is affordable. Because hydropower costs less than most energy sources, states that get the majority of their electricity from hydropower—like Idaho, Washington and Oregon—have lower energy bills than the rest of the country.
The next time you turn on the light switch, make a pot of coffee or charge your electric vehicle, remember that "Hydropower Flows Here!"
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Mailing Address: 4200 Roosevelt Blvd., Eugene, OR 97402
Phone: 541-685-7000
Toll free: 800-841-5871
Email: eweb.answers@eweb.org
Customer service phone hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday