Kyle Roadman, EPUD General Manager
Hello Emerald Customer-Owners,
Happy Summer to all. Growing up in Oregon, these were always the months that made lasting memories for me. Whether camping at the lake, watching fireworks with the neighbors, or just enjoying the warm twilight hours, summer has a way of staying with you.
This is also a time to reflect on our progress here at EPUD as we hit the halfway point in 2025. Our staff has been hard at work—both in the field and in the office—to deliver the electric service you deserve at a fair price. A summary of our major initiatives includes:
System Upgrades
- Bond Sale: In May, our staff successfully led a $40 million bond sale, money that will go directly into improving the reliability of our electric system. As part of this process, EPUD’s credit rating was upgraded by a third-party agency.
- New Transmission Line: This month, staff completed work on a new high-voltage transmission line between the Veneta and Junction City areas. This upgrade will increase reliability and capacity in this fast-growing part of our territory.
- Creswell Feeder Lines: Staff is actively working on the construction of multiple underground “feeder” lines out of the substation near Creswell. This includes an upcoming bore underneath Interstate 5 to ensure this substation can continue delivering power across southern Lane County even during extreme weather.
- McKenzie View Rebuild: Staff is working on a new design to upgrade our overhead lines along McKenzie View. When completed, this construction will create a second feed into and out of the Mohawk Valley, greatly increasing reliability.
- Pole Attachment Standards: Staff has also been focused on ensuring those who attach to our poles (cable/internet companies, mostly) do so without impacting electric service reliability. Efforts include negotiating new contracts, assessing adherence to construction standards, and assessing penalties when necessary.
Customer Services
- Customer Outage Map: Staff has been actively working to implement a new online map for customers to see where outages are occurring on our system. The hope is to publish this interactive map by the end of the year, providing near real-time information during service interruptions.
- LED Street Lighting: Throughout 2025 and 2026, staff is working to upgrade the EPUD-owned lighting across our District. Not only will LED lights reduce total energy consumption, they will also dramatically improve light quality for customers.
- New Wildfire Terminology: In addition to our ongoing work to prevent wildfires, staff is also constantly seeking to improve how we communicate wildfire risk to customers. This season, staff has been working with other local utilities to agree on simple, common terminology to make this information more useful to customers.
Other:
- Ice Storm FEMA Claim: Staff continues to work with the state and federal government to secure approximately $9 million in cost reimbursement from the January 2024 ice storm.
- New BPA Contract: Staff has been working for several years to negotiate a new long-term power supply agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). We hope to sign the final version later this year.
- Cybersecurity Upgrades: Staff has focused heavily on cybersecurity thus far in 2025, implementing several new measures to ensure the safety of our data.
- Short Mountain Negotiation: Finally, staff has invested substantial time this year negotiating with Lane County over the future of our Short Mountain power plant. We hope to have more to share here in the near future.
I hope this summer brings you great memories with family and friends. Thank you for being an EPUD customer.
Please stay safe,
