OTEC announces no expected rate increase in 2022
By Paul Hall on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – (Release from OTEC) At a time when East Oregonians continue to experience the economic impacts of COVID-19, Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is proud to announce the cooperative will not raise rates for its members-owners in any of its rate classes in 2022.
Day in and day out, OTEC works to control costs while maintaining top-tier service for our membership. This combined with the announcement from OTEC’s wholesale supplier of electricity, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), that it won’t be raising its rates, has allowed OTEC to maintain its current rates through 2022. The cost of power supply makes up almost 50% of OTEC’s costs, making it the single most impactful item to OTEC’s budget. This creates the strategic importance of OTEC’s investment and partnerships with public power and cooperative associations to engage and influence BPA to keep power costs competitive to allow cooperatives such as OTEC the opportunity to better serve their member-owners.
“Because of the value of hydropower and the dams that supply this clean, carbon-free, and affordable resource, we can continue providing some of the lowest rates in not only Oregon, but in the nation, for many years to come.” said Heidi Dalton, OTEC’s Chief Financial Officer.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the 2020 national average of cents per kilowatt hour was at 13.15, Oregon was at 11.17, and OTEC is proud to say we maintained one of the lowest rates in the state at 10.12.
“Our financial outlook is strong; this is another reason why we are not planning to raise rates and also why we were able to return $3 million in capital credits this year.” said Dalton. “As other utilities, such as natural gas companies and other power companies, are raising rates during the holiday season, it’s good to let our member-owners know that we are doing what we can to help them not only save money, but to continue providing some of the cleanest energy in the nation.”
About the cooperativeOregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves nearly 60,000 residents in four counties in Eastern Oregon. Headquartered in Baker City, OTEC has district offices in Burns, John Day, and La Grande.
