Orcas Power & Light Cooperative

08/20/2026

We were so excited to have the Funhouse Commons campers come to OPALCO to learn more about electrical safety! www.opalco.com/safetyfirst Funhouse Commons

08/19/2026

We’re so thrilled to see this project up and running!

Check out www.opalco.com/blog for a full story about the Lopez School solar project that was featured in the July 2026 Ruralite!

We now have solar! Come celebrate with us tomorrow as we "flip the switch" on the school's new solar array!

Tuesday, August 11, 4pm
Meet on the Playground

08/12/2026

📍A tale of two friends and one great adventure: what3words BINGO!
If you haven't already started your own journey, check out this quick video for a step by step guide for getting on your own what3words bingo adventure! Grab your friends and family and get out there and explore, while getting some hands on practice with the what3words app.

This event is a collaboration between OPALCO, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue , and the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank. We are so excited to be working together to inspire folks to get out and get practice with a life saving location technology. Thank you to all who have made this event possible!

08/09/2026

Sunday August 9 @ UPDATE - As of 4:45 this outage has been restored. There was a fault on the power system causing a temporary outage that has now been fixed.

4:30 pm. All of San Juan Island is experiencing a power outage. The crew is responding. www.opalco.com/outages

08/07/2026

The OPALCO linecrew works hard to make sure you have safe electricity 24/7. They do monthly trainings to stay prepared for any scenario. This month’s safety training focused on vault rescues. Thank a Lineworker! www.opalco.com/thanks

08/03/2026

ORCAS ISLAND! There is a very exciting event happening in August, and Jo is here to tell you a little bit about it.
OPALCO is partnering with Orcas Island Fire and Rescue and San Juan County Conservation Land Bank to bring you what3words bingo - an event designed to get you comfortable with using what3words, a precise location software used by emergency responders.
Visit www.opalco.com/events to get your digital bingo card, or check out pages 28-29 of the August issue of Ruralite magazine!
Stay tuned for more information about this event throughout the month. Happy adventuring!

07/31/2026

OPALCO hosted its first monthly informal chat in July on Orcas. People from the community came to ask questions they had directly to the leadership team. The Decatur Community Solar Expansion, OPALCO’s renewable energy future, and other topics were discussed. These events will be rotating islands each month. Join us for the next one on San Juan Island, at 5 pm on August 26 at the Grange to grab a treat and to ask your questions to the leadership team!

07/30/2026

It's International Intern Day and we're celebrating OPALCO's communications intern! 🎉🎈

Meet Aaron Orozco: Aaron grew up on San Juan Island and graduated from Friday Harbor High School. During high school he attended the ICUA Youth Rally with OPALCO. He is now a Junior at Washington State University and is majoring in Strategic Communication. You will see some of the content he is making this summer on our social media accounts - be sure follow us and like our posts!

07/28/2026

UPDATE: 12:40: All power is restored. The crews continue to investigate the cause of the outage this morning. Initially all of San Juan County except Lopez was without power due to a trip on the BPA system. Using our redundant power feeds most of the meters were restored within the hour. About 1000 meters remained without power until midday. OPALCO will continue to coordinate with BPA on the exact cause of the outage.

10:33 am - Most meters have their power now. Check the outage map and if your area isn't showing up and you don't have power - please report it. This outage is to due an outage on the BPA system - actual cause is being investigated.

Tuesday July 28 at 10:10 am: We are experiencing a power outage on San Juan and Orcas Island and some of the other islands. Crew is investigating. There is no estimated time of restoration. We will be updating this feed regularly as we get new info with updates. www.opalco.com/outages.

07/17/2026

Last week, six students from San Juan County represented Orcas Power & Light Cooperative at the 2026 Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Youth Rally.

The week was full of classes and presentations, team building and challenge activities, learning more about the electric cooperative industry, a tour of the Idaho State Capitol building, a waterpark day, and even a talent show!

Students from electric cooperatives all around the region - including Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Utah, and Wyoming - spent the week putting their leadership skills to the test and getting to know new people. Every student was observed and interviewed and was awarded points based on their performance throughout the week.

The week culminated with an awards banquet, where all students chosen to receive additional scholarship dollars were announced. This year, all the first year students representing OPALCO were awarded an additional scholarship by the ICUA! Congratulations to Matthew Vasquez and Theo Johnston on being awarded a $400 scholarship, Atziry Orozco and Chloe Roach on being awarded a $500 scholarship, and Maren Ellingson on being awarded a $600 scholarship. We are so proud!

A special shoutout as well to Gabe Chapman, who attended the 2025 ICUA Youth Rally as a first year and was voted in by his peers to return this year as a student director representing OPALCO. Gabe helped plan this year's camp, guided the first year OPALCO students through the week, and even taught some games and led some classes for the whole camp. He demonstrated leadership above and beyond any expectations and was such a great role model for his peers. Gabe is passing the student director torch on to Maren Ellingson, who was voted in by her peers as well to return to the 2027 youth rally as a director.

We are so grateful for the Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship program that allows us to continue to offer this opportunity and scholarship funds to local San Juan County kids. Seeing them shine at the camp every year is truly special - and is one of our favorite ways to keep the cooperative spirit alive at OPALCO and in our community.