Manager’s Message — April 2019
Wasco Electric Cooperative Inc. will provide its members with competitively priced, reliable energy and related services.
This is our mission statement. I want to share with you what we are doing to meet this commitment to you, the members.
Competitively Priced Energy
This does not mean the cheapest power. It means we will deliver a product to our members at the lowest possible cost it takes to serve the rural areas where you live and work.
Wasco Electric serves more than 4,700 meters spread across 1,600 miles of distribution line and five counties. The annual revenue generated from electric sales averages $6,900 per mile of line.
The cost to serve a system averaging fewer than three customers per mile is much different than the cost to serve a concentrated city load exceeding 40 customers per mile, with revenues in excess of $85,000 per mile of line.
In addition to the challenges of delivering low-cost power across a sparsely populated rural system, the rising costs of the power we buy from the Bonneville Power Administration continues to be a concern.
Reliable Energy
Ideally, we would like to have the lights on 24/7 throughout the year. However, that is not a reality given the elements our power lines are exposed to.
Your cooperative continually works to deliver the most reliable service possible.
During the past several years of an aggressive right-of-way tree-trimming program, we have nearly eliminated tree-related outages. While the costs associated with this program are relatively high, the value of clear rights-of-ways and reduced outages has paid big dividends.
In addition to tree trimming, we continue to upgrade portions of the system that have aged to the point of not being able to provide reliable service. This includes pole changeouts, upgraded lines to serve increasing loads and replacement of aging underground lines.
Related Services
In addition to the basic electric service we provide to you, the co-op offers a host of related services.
We offer rebates for several energy saving programs such as Energy Star appliances, home weatherization, heat pumps, irrigation system improvements and efficient commercial lighting upgrades.
Cooperative members have access to many local and national savings through the use of our Co-op Connections Card. Since its introduction, Wasco Electric members have saved more than $35,000 on their prescription drugs when using the Co-op Connections Card.
The co-op also offers a budget payment plan for its residential customers and on line bill view and pay through our website at www.wascoelectric.com.
As always, if you have any questions about your cooperative, please feel free to call or stop by the office.
Jeff Davis
General Manager