Douglas Electric Cooperative

09/24/2026

Some days getting that pole 6 feet in the ground is a little harder than others.

09/23/2026

Imagine it’s a cold January morning in Douglas County.

It’s 6:30 a.m.

Thousands of thermostats are warming homes. Water heaters are recovering from showers. Coffee makers are going. Dryers are running. Dishwashers are starting. A few EVs are still charging.

Nothing unusual. It’s just people starting their day.

But here’s something most people probably don’t know:

That could be one of the most expensive hours of the entire month for Douglas Electric.

In 2027, we expect to spend about $8.19 million purchasing power for our members.

And nearly $1.2 million of that, about 15%, is based on WHEN we use electricity, not how much we use.

Think about that.

Now imagine that same morning.

You still heat your house.
You still take your shower.
You still make your coffee. ☕️

But the dishwasher waits until 10 a.m.

The dryer waits until 10 p.m.

The EV charges overnight or waits until later in the morning.

You didn’t really use less electricity. You just used some of it at a different time.

One home doing that won’t change much.

But thousands of homes doing it together?

That can make a difference.

Based on our power bills, the hours that matter most are generally 6–9 a.m. in the winter, especially on cold mornings, and 4–7 p.m. in the summer.

We could eventually deal with this through complicated time-of-use rates, charging different prices depending on when you use electricity.

We really don’t want to do that.

We’re a cooperative. We’d rather tell our members how this works and see what we can accomplish together.

We’re not asking anyone to sit in a cold house. Take your shower. Make your coffee. Live your life.

But if the dishwasher can wait until 10…

If the dryer can wait until 10 tonight…

If the EV can charge at a different time…

It matters.

Because sometimes lowering the cost of electricity isn’t about using less.

It’s about using it at a different time. Spread the word…The more people that know, the better.

09/21/2026

DOUGLAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
“CODY” IS WANTED FOR QUESTIONING

CHARGE: AGGRAVATED POWER RESTORATION
STATUS: ARMED WITH RUBBER GLOVES
BAIL: ONE HOT CUP OF COFFEE

🚨 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 🚨

Douglas Electric Cooperative has apprehended one of its linemen following a lengthy investigation into reports of suspicious activity throughout Douglas County. Typically runs with the “Roseburg Crew”.

Witnesses report seeing the suspect restoring power in the middle of the night, working in horrible weather, carrying an unreasonable quantity of tools, and repeatedly showing up when everybody else would rather stay home.

Charges include:
• Aggravated Power Restoration
• Conspiracy to Keep the Lights On
• Operation of a Bucket Truck at all hours
• Possession of High-Voltage Equipment
• Working With Intent to Restore Service
• Failure to Observe Weekends and Holidays
• Excessive Consumption of Bad Coffee

Investigators say the suspect should be considered extremely dangerous to prolonged power outages.

Members are advised not to approach while he’s working. Just give him a wave. He’ll probably have your lights back on shortly.

09/18/2026

The State said the impact would be “modest.”

Well, here we are.

BPA is now proposing a 6.3% rate increase to recover the costs created by the court-ordered spill. The litigation our state has joined to cause the increase.

With nearly every cost of delivering affordable power already increasing, now is not the time to make the engine of the Northwest economy more expensive and less reliable.

It doesn’t feel modest in the middle of an affordability crisis. Our members deserve better.

Higher rates are officially flowing downriver. In a Federal Register notice published today, the Bonneville Power Administration launched formal rate proceedings to recover a staggering $250 million shortfall—the direct result of Governor Tina Kotek's litigation forcing water over federally owned hydropower dams rather than through their clean energy turbines. The official filing sets an expedited 6.3% wholesale rate hike in motion, shifting the cost burden directly onto Oregon’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives and the rural families they serve.

As Salem Electric General Manager Tony Schacher warned: "Gov. Kotek's anti-hydropower lawsuit will cause higher bills, less reliability, and more reliance on fossil fuels. The cost burden will fall on the most vulnerable Oregonians, who will be left wondering if they should pay their electricity bill or cover other essential needs, like food or medicine." The effect of the legal battle is no longer theoretical—the formal federal process to hike power bills is underway. Learn how this impacts your co-op at https://protecthydropower.com/.

09/17/2026

Good morning! We saw this view and thought, “That’s a beautiful backdrop, a great-looking line truck, getting ready to take some even better linemen to work.” So, naturally, we had to share it with our members!

Enjoy the day, we'll keep the lights on for ya!

09/15/2026

Your power bill is about to feel the effects of a lawsuit you didn't file.

We've been warning about this for months: today the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) — the federal agency that supplies the power we deliver to you — opened rate proceedings likely to raise wholesale power rates for Oregon utilities. A federal lawsuit joined by Oregon led to a court order requiring more water to be spilled over Columbia and Snake River dams rather than run through turbines. Less water through the turbines means less hydropower for BPA to sell — a shortfall BPA puts at roughly $100 million a year. Staff have signaled the adjustment could reach 6–7%.

Theoretically, the spill is to reduce salmon mortality but there is ongoing debate among fisheries scientists, including researchers at NOAA Fisheries—about whether this level of spill will result in a meaningful increase in adult salmon returns. The cost, however, is certain—and substantial.

This rate increase from the BPA is one that we will have no way to absorb and will be forced to pass on to members that are already stretched thin by rising food and fuel prices. At DEC it is our job to do everything that we can to control rates, which makes this even more frustrating, because despite all of our calls, letters, visits, and efforts to express the impact that this rate increase will have on our members, and the over one million Oregonians that receive the majority of their power from BPA, the State of Oregon has chosen to move forward with this anti-hydro power lawsuit.

Are we anti-fish? No, but we are pro making sure that the economic impact to the state’s citizens and ratepayers is quantified and known and that the benefits to the fish from the increased spill are also quantified and known so that an actual analysis of the risk versus reward can occur before a million Oregonians are forced to pay higher electric bills for an outcome that hasn’t been proven. In short, let’s make sure that this spill will actually help fish because we know that it absolutely will hurt people.

Learn how the hydropower system keeps your bills affordable and your lights on at https://protecthydropower.com/ and please take a moment to read this press release from Oregonians for Affordable Hydropower athttps://www.dec.coop/wp-content/uploads/OAHBPAIncreaseReleaseSept26.pdf

09/15/2026

🍂 Your heating system has been on vacation since April. Time to break the news.

It's been lounging in the utility room for five months. Zero responsibilities. Not a single thought in its head. And now we're about to walk in and ask it to work a 12-hour shift in 38-degree weather.

Let's ease it back in. A quick onboarding checklist for your returning employee:

🔧 Fresh filter. Nobody comes back from vacation and does their best work while breathing through five months of dust. Swap it now, then check monthly.

🍁 Clear the outdoor unit. If you've got a heat pump, that thing has been quietly collecting leaves, needles, and at least one ambitious blackberry vine. Give it two feet of clearance all the way around.

🌡️ Don't crank it. Heat pumps do their best work at a steady temperature. Slam the thermostat up 10 degrees and you've just called in the backup electric resistance heat — the coworker who shows up, does the job, and bills you double.

🚪 Seal the drafts. No sense having your furnace work overtime to heat the great outdoors. Weatherstripping and a tube of caulk are the cheapest raise you'll ever give it.

📞 Schedule the tune-up. Local HVAC techs book solid the week of the first cold snap. Ask us how we know.

And if the space heaters are coming out of the closet: straight into the wall outlet, never a power strip or extension cord, and three feet of clear space around them. That one's not a joke.

Do this now and your system comes back rested and ready. Ignore it and you'll meet it again at 6 a.m. on the coldest morning in December, when it decides to retire permanently.

09/11/2026

BEFORE THERE WAS
COKE vs. PEPSI,
THERE WAS
REDDY vs. WILLIE.

A TRUE STORY!

Okay, maybe the rivalry wasn’t quite as intense as Coke vs. Pepsi. But there really was a fight between these two guys.

Reddy Kilowatt was created in 1926 and became one of the best-known mascots in the electric utility industry.

Then along came Willie Wiredhand, created to represent America’s electric cooperatives. His lower half was an electrical plug, his body was wire, and his name was a play on the idea of electricity as the rural farmer’s dependable “hired hand.”

Reddy’s owners apparently looked at Willie and thought, “Hold on a minute…” They sued.

The dispute ended up in federal court in the 1950s. Reddy’s side argued the characters were too similar. Willie’s side won, and Willie went on representing electric cooperatives across the country.

While they look like they could be cousins, they came to represent two different parts of the electric utility world.

Reddy was widely associated with Investor-Owned utilities.

Willie belonged to the member-owned cooperative movement.

So around here, we probably ought to remind Reddy that he’s visiting Willie’s house.

09/05/2026

7:35 PM - Power has been restored!

5:45 PM - Crews in the field estimate that they should have power restored in the next 2-3 hours. As always, they will work as safely and quickly as possible to make that happen.

5:00 PM Update – Crews have located a broken pole on the transmission line that feeds the Elkton and Scottsburg substations.

Unfortunately, the damaged pole is in a difficult-to-access location, so repairs may take some time and this could be an extended outage. Once the crew on-site has completed a more thorough assessment of the damage and what will be required to make repairs, we should be able to provide a more accurate restoration timeline.

We appreciate your patience and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available

3:30 - We have lost trasnmission to our Elkton and Scottsburg substations. This means that all 1,100 members fed from those two substations are without power. As soon as we know more, we will update here. If you have information regarding downed lines or damaged equipment, please call us at 1-888-420-8826.

09/04/2026

This is going to be hard on us. 💔

But sometimes it’s good to miss someone a little. It makes the next time you see them that much more special.

We know how much you look forward to stopping by the DEC office on Mondays, and frankly, it pains us to take that away from you.

But by gosh, we’re going to do it.

DEC will be closed Monday for Labor Day, so our employees can stay home and miss you for a bit.

And we will miss you. Probably more than you’ll miss us.

Stay strong. We’ll get through this together.

Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day. We’ll see you Tuesday! 🇺🇸