What’s ahead in 2024: General manager’s message to EWEB customer-owners
Happy New Year from all of us at EWEB! In 2023 we celebrated 112 years of community ownership and a core mission of delivering safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible power and water to Eugene homes and businesses.
2023 was a year of substantial progress on EWEB’s key priorities of improving resiliency and preparing to meet our community’s future energy and water needs.
Here are some highlights of last year:
Keeping the lights on 99.44% of the time
Skilled electric line technicians, engineers, software and cybersecurity technicians, and other professionals managed 1,300 miles of power lines and 38 substations across 240 square miles of service territory to keep your power on. We track performance using industry standards and are proud to report your power was available and functioning like normal last year 99.44% of the time. To address a bubble of aging infrastructure we launched an effort in 2023 to rebuild 10 substations in the next 10 years, beginning with the 60-year-old Currin Substation, which we call the “Grand Central Station” of our electric grid.
Protecting our drinking water from source to tap
In the McKenzie River valley, we continued to lead a drinking water source protection program that for decades has maintained exceptional water quality. To ensure safe, reliable water continues to flow even as critical infrastructure ages and new challenges arise, we constructed two 7.5-million-gallon drinking water storage tanks and more than 2,500 feet of new 36-inch pipeline built to withstand a major earthquake. The new tanks and pipeline are in the final stages and will come online in early 2024.
Planning for a clean, reliable energy future
About 90% of EWEB’s annual energy comes from carbon-free resources and we’re committed to doing even better. In 2023 we completed a study that forecasts Eugene’s electricity needs 20 years into the future and identified an action plan for future work that will ensure we continue to meet our community’s clean energy needs while maintaining reliability and affordability. We developed our first Climate Guidebook to guide our progress on reducing emissions associated with both the energy we provide and our operations.
Helping customers reduce energy use and save money
At EWEB, we have always encouraged efficiency and conservation first. In 2023, we invested around $3 million to help customers upgrade things like windows, insulation, water heaters, and heating units. Our Customer Care Program provided more than $1 million in bill credits for income-qualifying customers.
What’s next?
Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, tomorrow, next year, next decade and next century — our work at EWEB never stops.
Our services — delivering drinking water and electricity — are becoming more precious as the environment we operate in grows increasingly dynamic.
In 2024, we will continue rebuilding and modernizing the facilities and technology needed to deliver your power and water and meet the future needs of our community. Some of the major projects we’re planning and budgeting for include:
- Continuing substation upgrades to increase capacity and improve reliability
- Investing in updated meter technology to improve service and enable new customer programs
- Continuing to upgrade and supplement water storage tanks, including demolishing and rebuilding the 80-year-old College Hill Reservoir
- Building a water treatment plant on the Willamette River to improve the resiliency of our water supply
- Upgrading the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project
- Addressing the structural vulnerabilities of the Leaburg Canal
As an EWEB customer, you fund these projects through your rates. When you pay your EWEB bill, you’re not just paying for the electricity and water you used, you are investing in the health, safety, livability, and economic future of your community.
So as we close out 2023 and welcome 2024, I want to thank you for your trust and support. I also want to express my deep gratitude to EWEB employees and their families for their dedication to our community.
Here’s to a safe, reliable, and responsible 2024!
Frank Lawson
EWEB CEO & General Manager
