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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Upgrades to Eugene's downtown electric network continue
You may have noticed construction this week on the corner of 7th and Pearl Street. That’s because crews replaced a corroded, aging vault with an innovative, new Voltek vault. The Voltek design allows for the new infrastructure to be built inside of the existing aging vault. We’re able to install the new vault while the cables are still energized, minimizing disruption to customers and traffic while cutting construction time in half.
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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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Celebrate Earth Month by taking charge of your home's energy use
This Earth Month, learn how you can reduce your energy usage to help protect our planet and reduce carbon emissions.
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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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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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Leaburg Decommissioning Action Plan
Plan details next steps through regulatory processes to begin dismantling Leaburg Dam by 2032.
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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 Recognized with Excellence in Communications Awards from American Public Power Association
We are proud to have been recognized with two Excellence in Public Power Communications Awards for 2023 from the American Public Power Association (APPA).
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EWEB now offering a Smart Thermostat rebate program
EWEB is excited to announce a new residential rebate program to provide electric customers with free or greatly discounted Smart Thermostats to customers whose primary source of heating is from an electric forced-air furnace or heat pump.
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Have an energy efficient and water conscious holiday season
The holiday season is officially upon us. Whether you are celebrating a special holiday or just sharing a meal with close friends and family, hosting can cause some unexpected energy and water usage increases – resulting in a higher utility bill. We’ve prepared some tips on how you can save energy and water this holiday season.
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River Road Substation returns to service after infrastructure upgrades
Supply chain shortages and proactive infrastructure investments, including constructing seismic foundations and implementing control modernization, have played a role in the substation's return-to-service timeline.
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The importance of managed electric vehicle charging explained
EWEB has much to handle related to EV charging infrastructure. To ensure that the switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles reduces the most emissions possible at the lowest cost possible, we need to implement managed EV charging.
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Fall is the perfect time to prepare for winter storm season
Winter is coming, which increases the likelihood of storm-related power outages. It's important to be prepared, and there are simple actions you can take right now.
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EWEB seeks public input on electric vehicle, demand response standards
EWEB is seeking public input on the potential adoption of updated standards for electric vehicles (EVs) and demand response programs. The potential standards are derived from the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA.
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EWEB joins 10 other utilities to take the next step in support of a Western Resource Adequacy Program
December 08, 2022
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has joined 10 other Western utilities to help ensure clean energy resources will be adequate to serve the growing demand in the region, while also managing costs and maintaining reliability for customers.
Companies from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia are joining under Western Power Pool (WPP) to commit to a binding resource adequacy program in the region, called the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP).
More than 11 utilities in four states and territories spanning Canada and the Western Region of the United States have already signaled their intent to join WRAP ahead of the Dec. 16 deadline. Current members include EWEB, Avista Utilities, Calpine Energy Solutions, Chelan Public Utility District, Clatskanie People’s Utility District, PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric, PowerEx Corp, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Tacoma Power.
"It’s vital that all of us in the Western U.S. work together to make sure that there is always enough power for our customers when they need it most. And by working together, we can all maintain the high levels of reliability that our customers expect, while doing so more efficiently," said Megan Capper, EWEB’s energy resources manager. "At EWEB, we’re grateful for our electric utility partners around the region who are also planning for the future, and we look forward to more utilities joining this important program."
By bringing together a group of clean-energy-focused utilities, the WRAP is expected to provide greater reliability, offer the ability to leverage regional diversity when planning for resource adequacy and enable access to capacity reserves during times of peak demand. The program enables managed costs and better service for customers throughout the region by allowing utilities to act together and share assets and infrastructure upgrades where necessary.
The WRAP would also provide the common planning standards and transparency needed to address the West’s changing resource mix and rapidly expanding load growth.
"The WRAP is an important step forward for reliability in the region as we face the growing challenge of resource adequacy," said Sarah Edmonds, CEO and President of Western Power Pool. "We are thrilled to formally welcome so many distinguished companies into the WRAP. They share our commitment to working together to solve the challenge of resource adequacy in the West. We look forward to more utilities following their lead and joining later this month."
It will be critical for utilities to maintain reliability as the region transitions to a decarbonized power sector. The WRAP program helps with that, while also keeping costs down, by allowing utilities to pool resources from across the region.
The participants and their stakeholders across the West are working with WPP to ensure that the different market options being explored will work with WRAP in a way that preserves the WRAP value proposition. While the WRAP is a first of its kind program, regional adequacy programs are currently in place in all Independent System Operator and Regional Transmission Organization (ISO/RTO) markets.