Related News
Related News
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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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Preparation and Resilience: How EWEB Maintained Water Service During Recent Ice Storm
Learn about the projects and people that helped EWEB keep water flowing throughout the extreme weather event.
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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 focusing on restoring electric service for Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant
With more ice forecasted for Tuesday, all EWEB crews are in the field assessing outages and restoring power.
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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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EWEB 2023 year in review
In 2023, EWEB invested in our community with grants, rebates and an array of other programs and measures aimed at fulfilling our core values of safety, reliability, affordability, environmental responsibility and community/culture.
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EWEB Safety Tip: Celebrate responsibly with balloons
June 09, 2023 • Robyn Smith, EWEB Communications
Graduations and other outdoor celebrations are in full swing. During these joyous occasions for grads and families, it’s important to think about the safety risks associated with common party decorations, especially helium-filled metallic balloons.
If your graduation celebration involves balloons, make sure they are secured with a weight. Otherwise, they can float away and come into contact with overhead power lines. While balloons may seem harmless, they can cause a public safety risk if not properly secured.
“Safety is EWEB’s number one value, and that includes the safety of our community, our customers, and our crews,” said Robyn Smith, EWEB Communication Specialist. “EWEB employees are excited to be celebrating graduations this season like so many other members of our community. We urge people to celebrate safely by making sure metallic balloons are well secured so they don’t float into power lines, where they can potentially cause outages, damage, and danger.”
Metallic balloons have a silvery coating, which is a conductor of electricity. If the balloons float away and contact power lines, they can short transformers, cause power outages, and melt electrical wires, causing public safety risks. For example, last year, almost 9,500 residents in Long Beach, CA endured nearly eight hours without power when balloons landed in and brought down a power line.
To help ensure celebrations with balloons are enjoyed responsibly, EWEB is reminding customers to follow these important balloon safety tips:
- "Look Up and Live!" Use caution and avoid celebrating with metallic balloons near overhead electric lines.
- Make sure helium-filled metallic balloons are securely tied to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight.
- When possible, keep metallic balloons indoors. Never permit metallic balloons to be released outside, for everyone's safety.
- Do not bundle metallic balloons together.
- Never attempt to retrieve any type of balloon, kite, or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave it alone and immediately call EWEB at 1-844-484-2300 to report the problem.
- If you encounter a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air, never go near it. Always assume downed electric lines are energized and extremely dangerous. Stay far away, keep others away, and immediately call 911 to alert the police and fire departments. Other tips can be found here.
Celebrate responsibly and keep your metallic balloons tied to something heavy or keep them inside and avoid the unnecessary risks and outages created by their release.
Congratulations to all 2023 graduates!