Member Powered Since 1940
Mission Statement
Providing our Members cost-effective energy.
Core Values
●Safety ●Service ●Reliability
7 Cooperative Principles
Voluntary and Open Membership: Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.- Democratic Member Control: Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (1 member, 1 vote), and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
- Members Economic Participation: Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
- Autonomy and Independence: Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
- Education, Training, and Information: Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so that they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
- Concern for Community: While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
History
Getting Started
Most of the farming community in Wasco County did not have electricity in 1940. Pacific Power and Light Company ran its power lines from town to town, but it was very expensive for farms along the way to be hooked up.
Eric Johnson, a rancher who lived near The Dalles, could see the power lines from his house but could not get service. He decided to meet with some of his neighbors to try to get electricity for the farmers. They met for the first time on April 4, 1940, in the Dufur City Hall and elected the Board of Incorporators, who served as the first board of directors of the cooperative. R.N. Kortge was hired as coordinator, and his duty was to sign up the farmers of the county as members of the co-op. The memberships were $5 at that time, as they still are today.
REA Loan, Constructing Lines
These first members were informed of the loan funds available through the Federal Rural Electrification Administration (REA) program, which had gone into effect May 11, 1935. By June of 1940, the farmers had hired an engineer to map out the system. In August, REA granted a loan to Wasco Electric Cooperative in the amount of $240,000 for the construction of 264 miles of lines to 342 members.
First Annual Meeting, Opening an Office
The first Annual Meeting was held on October 29, 1940, at the Civic Auditorium in The Dalles. The directors elected at the meeting included W.E. Davis, who then served as president of the board. On November 12, 1940, an office was opened at 316 East 3rd Street in The Dalles. Eric Johnson was hired as superintendent, and Irma E. Gedney was hired as secretary. Construction began March 31, 1941. The members who would be able to use electricity helped the construction crew by clearing rights-of-way, digging holes, setting poles, etc., as a real cooperative effort.
From Switch On to Today
On May 24, 1941, at the end of a week of celebration of Bonneville Power and Appliance Week, President Davis took a long stick and tipped the energizing switch at the substation amid cheers from the crowd gathered for the great moment. Wasco Electric Cooperative was the first utility to purchase power from the Bonneville Power Administration in Wasco County.
Since that memorable day, the area served by Wasco Electric Cooperative, Inc. has grown to over 5,000 square miles in 5 counties – Wasco, Sherman, Jefferson, Gilliam, and Wheeler. We have over 3,000 members with over 1,700 miles of lines and 10 substations to serve them.
Many problems have been solved during the Cooperative’s lifetime, and it is certain that with the continued cooperative spirit that built the system from 1940 until now, we will work together to ensure the success of your cooperative in the future years.
What is An Electric Cooperative?
In 1935 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act (REA) that made it possible for many rural people to organize electric cooperatives. The REA, as it was called, gave electric co-ops access to low interest loans for the purpose of constructing transmission and distribution systems in order to provide central station power to rural America. Many of the country’s People’s Utility Districts (PUD) also had access to REA funds.
At the time the REA Act was signed, there were very few rural people fortunate enough to enjoy the luxury of electricity that their city cousins had. Even if you happened to live next to the road right of way where an investor-owned utility (IOU) had a power line, the costs to connect in most cases were prohibitive, and you certainly could not afford to have the line built over a great distance. Evidence of this is still apparent today as you drive down Highway 97 in Sherman County.
Today, electric co-ops nationwide serve 13.5% of the population and account for 13% of the energy sold. Although they own and maintain nearly half of the distribution lines in the U.S., spanning 3-quarters of the land mass, they average only 7.98 consumers per mile and collect revenues of approximately $19,000 per mile.
IOU’s and public utilities, or municipals, average 32.4 customers per mile and collect $79,000 per mile of line. As a comparison, Wasco Electric Cooperative has a density of 2.8 consumers per mile and collects a revenue of approximately $6,050 per mile.