Dear Members,
As 2020 draws to a close and we head into winter storm season, I encourage you to prepare for possible outages affecting your electric or internet service. When storms hit, we prioritize our response to restore outages affecting the largest numbers of customers first. Sometimes, we need to quickly de-energize additional lines to safely complete repairs or to minimize equipment damage. Your patience during the repair process is greatly appreciated.
Our employees who answer outage calls often do not have information about the causes of specific outages or know when repairs will be completed. Our repair priorities may change with evolving conditions or events. When outages are widespread, we share updates on our Facebook page.
During storms, we appreciate knowing if you’ve seen any broken wires, trees on lines, or other potential outage causes. If you see a downed line or a tree on a line, stay at least 50 feet away, keep others away, and immediately call (541) 354-1233 to report it. Downed lines can be energized even if they look completely harmless.
When outages hit, we work as quickly as safety allows to restore your service. But restoration during major storms can sometimes take a few days. That’s why we encourage you to prepare in advance. A home emergency kit can help you and your family stay safe and comfortable while we complete our repair work. To learn about preparing for winter weather, visit our Outage Preparation page.
Safely restoring your service is our highest priority when storms hit. Rest assured, our crews are ready to answer the call if the need arises.
Capital Credits Update
In September, your Hood River Electric Cooperative Board of Directors authorized the return of $859,944 in capital credits to electric division members and $91,913 to internet division members. Checks were sent out in mid-November. If you bought electric service from us in 2009, you received a portion of that retirement. If you bought internet service from us in 2016, you received a portion of that retirement.
If you would like to have future capital credit retirements applied to your account instead of sent to you as a check, you can request that on our website on our Capital Credits page or by contacting our billing department at (541) 354-1233 or by email.
On behalf of the HREC board and staff, thank you for the opportunity to serve you. We wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
Libby Calnon
General Manager