What is a Cooperative

What Defines a Cooperative

An electric cooperative is a private, non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the state and owned by the customers it serves. It is governed by a locally-elected board of directors and is guided by principles including voluntary membership, local control, autonomy, member participation and concern for community.

What They're Not

As consumer-owned utilities, electric cooperatives differ from investor-owned utilities, such as PGE and PacifiCorp, in that they are non-profit companies, owned by their members - not stockholders. They are governed by locally-elected boards and are not rate-regulated by the Oregon Public Utility Commission as are the investor-owned utilities.

Unlike other types of consumer-owned utilities (People's Utility Districts and Municipal Utilities) electric cooperatives are not government entities and do not have governmental powers such as taxing authority or the ability to issue bonds. Cooperatives are private companies.

Public Preference Power

The largest source of electricity for cooperatives is the Bonneville Power Administration which operates the federal Columbia River hydroelectric power system. Through the Congressionally-established Preference Clause, consumer-owned utilities such as cooperatives have first right to the sale of electricity from this federal resource.

Oregon's Electric Cooperatives

Oregon's 18 electric cooperatives are distribution utilities serving approximately 10% of the state's electricity consumers. Electric cooperatives are located in 32 Oregon counties, covering 65% of the state's geography and traversing some of its most rugged terrain with over 26,000 miles of distribution line. Cooperatives average 7 customers per mile of line.

Beginning in the 1930's, Oregon's electric cooperatives were organized to bring electric power to under-served rural areas. Today, these utilities, as preferred customers of the Bonneville Power Administration, provide at-cost electric service to residential, industrial, commercial and irrigation consumers. They also address other rural community needs by providing services such as telecommunications, high-speed internet and propane.