Our Lebanon and Philomath offices will be closed Friday, May 24 as well.

CPI offices are closed on Fridays since we changed to four, ten-hour days. Our hours are 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Our outage lines are always open. Call 541-929-3124 or 800-872-9036

We wish you a safe and happy holiday weekend!

The post Memorial Day Office Closure appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

Those receiving funds were

• Albany Helping Hands for gardening tools
• Alsea Gleaners for food purchases
• American Youth Soccer (AYSO) for soccer field irrigation
• Bright Horizons Therapeutic Riding Center for new safety equipment
• Community Outreach for food at day-care center
• Corvallis Parks and Rec. Youth Corp to purchase emergency disaster kits
• Friends of the Family for children’s play therapy materials
• Linn County Grange Women for batting used in quilts and lap robes
• Linus Pauling Healthy Youth Program for scholarships for summer programs
• Mary’s River Gleaners for food supplies
• Pedee Women’s Club for supplies and postage for soldier care packages
• Senior Dog Rescue for veterinary care
• Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program for delivery truck repair.

Individuals who are CPI members and non-profit organizations that provide services in the six counties where CPI provides electric service are eligible to apply for grants from the Charitable Trust.

CPI customers and employees fund the Charitable Trust by voluntarily rounding up their monthly electric bills. A volunteer committee of CPI members makes funding decisions.

The next meeting of the CPI Charitable Trust will be in August. For an application or questions, call CPI at 541-929-8520 or write info@cpi.coop.

The post Consumers Power Charitable Trust Awards First Round of Grants for 2013 appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

The Good Place to Be showcases energy efficiency actions being taken by real people across the region, in their own words.

Find practical ways to reducing energy waste that have worked for others. You can even add your own stories! See more at cpi.goodplacetobe.com.

The post It’s a good Place to Be appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

Outdoors, use only weather resistant extension cords marked “for outdoor use.”

Be sure to use the correctly rated size outdoor extension cords for the electric products they are used with.

Never remove the third prong of a three pronged plug. Inside and out, eliminate overloaded outlets.

It’s a great time for adults and kids to learn more about electric safety with CPI’s safety demonstration. The program lasts about an hour.  Anyone interested can call CPI at 541-929-8520 or write info@cpi.coop

For more safety tips see www.esfi.org

The post May is Electrical Safety Month appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

CPI members thinking of adding insulation to their homes or installing new windows should check with CPI before making their purchase.

CPI requires a pre-inspection before work is done on the home. The insulation rebate is 25 percent of the cost of the job up to $500. CPI pays $6 a square foot for windows with an efficiency rating (U Factor) of .30 or less.  We also will pay $8 a square foot for windows with a U factor of .22. Homes must be heated with electricity to qualify.

To qualify for a $60 washing machine rebate the machine must have a Modified Energy Factor of 2.20 or better and a Water Factor of 6 or lower.

CPI has a limited rebate budget for people adding solar to their homes. Because of this, CPI requires a pre-approval to make sure it has funds available.

CPI also has rebates of either $300 or $500 depending on gallon size for heat pump water heaters.   See requirements and forms under our Rebates tab at www.cpi.coop

The post CPI Rebate Update appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

Gillen, who holds a business administration degree from Oregon State University, came to work for CPI in 1986 as director of Information Systems and became CEO in 2006. He also serves as secretary/treasurer of PNGC Power and secretary of Casco Communications.

CFC is governed by a 23-member board of directors. The board represents 11 districts, with one at-large position. CPI serves 22,000 members in parts of Benton, Lincoln, Lane, Linn, Polk and Marion counties.

The post CPI CEO Elected to National Finance Post appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

811 is the number you should call before you begin any digging project.

People often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked.

Every digging job requires a call – even small projects like planting trees or shrubs. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially be responsible for fines.

Dial 811 before every digging job gets your underground utility lines marked for free and helps prevent undesired consequences.

The post 8-1-1 Gets Underground Utilities Located appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

For information on the CleanHydro campaign, visit www.cleanhydro.com

Public opinion research shows a lack of understanding of the river system’s value to the Northwest’s economy. Many Northwest residents believe wind and solar technologies produce a much higher percentage of power than what is accurate. Younger generations know very little about the Columbia and Snake River System’s positive contributions. For example, surveys show that Northwest residents believe hydropower comprises 42 percent of the region’s power, while they think wind and solar combine for 11 percent. In reality, hydropower produces 60 percent of the region’s electricity, while solar and wind produce 4 percent. And in the Northwest, hydropower provides 90 percent of the region’s renewable energy.

“We are launching this effort to educate people that a great deal of important commerce flows from our Northwest rivers,” said Scott Corwin, Executive Director of the Public Power Council and also a co-chair of the CleanHydro campaign. “The fact that hydropower is the region’s premier renewable energy source is a compelling story to share,” Corwin added.

Examples of facts and benefits from the campaign:

• Agriculture: Northwest rivers irrigate 7.8 million acres of farmland each year. Annual net earned income from Northwest agriculture production exceeds $8 billion.
• Commerce: Over 50 million tons of commercial cargo, valued at over $20 billion, is moved down the Columbia and Snake Rivers annually. The Northwest is the nation’s number one exporter of wheat, barley and paper products. The Northwest river system provides over 100,000 jobs to the region.
• Clean air: Barges on Northwest rivers keep 700,000 trucks off the highways each year. Because hydropower produces no carbon emissions, the Northwest’s carbon footprint is half that of other parts of the country.
• Renewable: Hydropower provides nearly 90 percent of the Northwest’s renewable energy.
• Energy: Northwest dams provide nearly 60 percent of the region’s electricity. It would take two nuclear, three coal-fired, or six gas-fired power plants to replace the average annual power produced by the four lower Snake River dams.
• Flexible and reliable: Because the rivers are always flowing in the Northwest, hydropower is also used as a tool to back up intermittent generators such as wind or solar. Hydro generation can be quickly adjusted to follow changes in wind production and keep the transmission system reliable.
• Flood control: Prior to the federal dams on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, Portland and other cities were subject to severe flooding. Controlling flood waters became a high priority in 1948 when Vanport, Oregon, was destroyed in a late spring deluge. A 1964 treaty with Canada led to the development of millions of acre-feet of water storage for flood control and power generation. Estimates show that flood control operations in February 1996 saved $3.2 billion to the Portland metropolitan area in what otherwise would have been devastating flood damage.
• Recreation: The reservoirs formed by dams provide Northwest residents with abundant waterways for boating, fishing, water-related sports and cruises. Tourism from river cruise ships alone brings $15 to $20 million annually to local Northwest economies.

About Northwest RiverPartners: Northwest RiverPartners is an alliance of over 120 farmers, utilities, ports and small and large businesses that relies on and promotes the economic and environmental benefits of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, and fish and wildlife policies and programs based on sound science. RiverPartners’ member organizations represent more than four million electric utility customers, 40,000 farmers and thousands of port employees that provide hundreds of thousands of Northwest jobs.

For information on the CleanHydro campaign, visit www.cleanhydro.com

The post CPI Joins with Northwest RiverPartners for Hydropower Education Effort appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

“Thirty transmission poles, many in difficult access areas, have been identified as needing replacement due to decay or damage,” says Greg Pierce, CPI Director of Operations.  “Another 110 distribution poles have been identified as needing replacement due to decay or damage.”

Approximately 8,700 feet of underground cable will be replaced system wide. These cable sections were installed in the 1970’s and have shorted and failed many times resulting in power outages. Some of the underground cable sections that will be replaced are in subdivisions in Lebanon, South Albany and North Corvallis.

“In addition, approximately 16,200 feet of underground cable will be refurbished using an insulating fluid injection system. This cable treatment has proven to be a cost effective way to prolong the life of underground cables meeting certain criteria,” according to Greg without having to do a total replacement.

When an outage is required for the work to be done, CPI will notify customers by postcard or a phone call.

The post CPI Plans for 2013 System Improvements appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..

As a nonprofit cooperative, any revenues that remain after CPI’s bills are paid and a reasonable amount is held for emergencies are returned to CPI members. How much each person gets is based on the amount of electricity they used during the period being returned. If a member’s capital credit is $10 or less for the period being returned, CPI will not issue a check.

The reason for the time lag in returning capital credits is that CPI has used your investment for a number of years to improve and maintain its electric system, reducing the need to take on debt. This helps keep electric rates lower.

Returning capital credits is not automatic. The co-op’s board of directors—member-owners themselves—review current finances and determines if issuing a refund is prudent.

For questions, please call CPI at (541) 929-8553 or write capitalcredits@cpi.coop.

CPI serves 22,000 electric accounts in its six county service area.

The post CPI Returns Capital Credits appeared first on Consumers Power Inc..