
Electric Outage: 1-844-484-2300
Water Emergency: 541-685-7595
EWEB Main: 541-685-7000
Electric mobility seems to be everywhere these days, but does availability equal accessibility? Here at EWEB we’ve determined that the answer is ‘no’ and are working to bridge that gap through EV car shares, community grants and electric bike rebates.
Find Out MoreIn Eugene, we take pride in knowing we have one of the cleanest power portfolios in the nation. Roughly 90% of Eugene's power comes from carbon-free hydroelectric energy. And EWEB has a long history offering robust conversation programs. But we wanted to do more, so we launched Lead Green, a suite of programs for climate innovators looking to support renewable energy and take action on climate change. In the year since Lead Green was launched, we've accomplished a lot we can be proud of.
Find Out MoreLearn some of the many ways EWEB customers support local schools and help inspire kids to explore the wonders of watershed health and clean energy resources.
Find Out MoreOur skilled journeymen are experts in their field, with thousands of training hours and real-world experiences.
Find Out MoreNational Infrastructure Week (May 14-20) may be a politically charged quip on the national stage, but for EWEB, the urgency and importance of infrastructure is no joke.
Find Out MoreBy upgrading substations – key nodes in the electric grid – EWEB is investing today in a resilient electric grid for the future.
Find Out MoreA wrap up of the May 2nd EWEB Board of Commissioners Meeting
Find Out MoreSeventh graders in the Bethel School District put their handmade wind turbines to the test in a wind power challenge supported by EWEB grants last week.
Find Out MoreThe application period is now open for the Electric Mobility Community Grants. Mobility Grants of up to $25,000 will be awared to five nonprofits, schools and academic intitutions, government and other public agencies to cover costs associated with their electric mobility projects.
Find Out MoreEWEB's Greenpower subscribers voted to award this year's Greenpower Grant to Friends of Trees, a local nonprofit that brings trees to areas of Eugene and Springfield with low tree equity.
Find Out MoreFollow along as the Currin Substation, the first of 10 substations in 10 years, is rebuilt from the ground up as part of EWEB's Capital Improvement Plan for major infrastructure investments to rehabilitate, replace, and install new infrastructure.
Find Out MoreToday and every day, we celebrate and honor the hard work, innovation and dedication of electrical line workers.
Find Out MoreThe EWEB Board of Commissioners discussed prefunding Leaburg, the 2022 State of the Watershed report, and the General Manager's performance evaluation at their April 4th, 2023 meeting.
Find Out MoreIt’s spring-- the time of year when birds are nesting in our trees. EWEB crews take special care to avoid disrupting birds when they’re trimming trees. But tree trimming is a necessary part of delivering safe and reliable power. We went out with a crew to find out how it's done.
Find Out MoreEWEB is excited to announce the eligible candidates for the 2023 Greenpower Grant! The winner of the Greenpower Grant will be voted on by Greenpower subscribers. Learn more about each origanization and their proposal before casting your vote.
Find Out MoreJanuary 12, 2023 • Robyn Smith, EWEB Communications
Despite 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.
And it’s all possible because of your electric rates.
The week before Christmas, the National Weather Service forecasted up to half an inch of ice accumulation in the Eugene area. When ice weighs down tree limbs, the limbs can snap causing outages. This is just one of the reasons why our crews trim more than 300 overhead line miles of vegetation each year.
So, EWEB staff activated our incident management structure to ensure we had crews on call and a strategy in place to respond to power outages through the holiday weekend. As predicted, ice blanketed Eugene and the surrounding areas, but power outages did not materialize.
In addition to vegetation management, we have a full toolbox of "grid hardening" strategies to improve our equipment’s resiliency to extreme weather conditions.
For example, this summer, crews reconfigured a span of overhead wires across 80 poles near the McKenzie Highway to a ‘slim line’ format (pictured). Modern equipment capabilities allow us to replace older double lines held up by wooden cross arms with a single wire. This new configuration both removes cross arms that can fail during winter storms and adds more clearance between wires and nearby vegetation. Ultimately, this reduces the chance of branches contacting the lines during high wind events and snowstorms.
Shortly after Christmas, we experienced relatively few outages from a 48-hour windstorm that blew through the Willamette Valley. Our crews were able to respond and restore power within a few hours. Other utilities in the area did not fare so well.
Because EWEB had minimal equipment to repair from the wind event, and tree related damage was manageable within one workday, we were able to respond to a request for aid from our neighbors to the north, Portland General Electric (PGE), after the initial impact of the windstorm left over 100,000 PGE customers without power. With our local outages restored, EWEB sent two, two-person crews to help PGE with outage restoration.
And with continual investments in our electric system, EWEB is prepared for whatever the winter weather has in store as we finish out this season.
“We are ready to respond to any isolated outages that customers may experience from tough winter weather. Our crews are dedicated to community response and safety, and we will continue to monitor and prepare for weather-related events. Our ability to rebound during severe weather has been a long-term effort that staff have focused on with dedication to our maintenance, compliance and improvements day to day,” said Tyler Nice, EWEB electric operations manager.
To learn more about how to prepare your home and family for power outages and emergencies, go to eweb.org/emergencyprep.
Your Rates Keep the Lights on and the Water Flowing
The clean, safe water and electricity we all rely on would not be possible without the infrastructure that delivers it.
From power plants to distribution and transmission lines, substations and transformers, pipes, reservoirs and pump stations — utility infrastructure is a complex system that requires investment and maintenance to provide constant, reliable power and water.
EWEB plans for major infrastructure investments through our Capital Improvement Plan, a 10-year plan for rehabilitating, replacing, or installing new infrastructure.
Visit eweb.org/rateinfo to learn more about what goes into your EWEB rates and what you get for your money.
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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