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The INDEPENDENT, December 21,1994
WOEC remains with BPA; future unsure
By Jim Buxton
West Oregon Electric Co
op era tive has alw ays p u r
chased its pow er from the
Bonneville Power Administra
tion. Until recently there has
been no reason to even con
sider doing oth erw ise. But
with escalating power costs,
potentially expensive prob
lems with dams, river flows
and salmon, along with per
ceived inefficiency at BPA,
the cooperative’s board of di
rectors has been considering
purchasing power from other
providers such as B.C. Hydro
or Portland General Electric
Company.
Tuesday, at its re g u la r
monthly board meeting, the
directors met with WOEC at
torney, Chuck Fadeley, in a
closed door executive ses
sion. After the public session
reconvened, Manager David
Seuss and Director Hess an
nounced that WOEC would
continue to purchase its pow
er from BPA, at least for the
next couple of years. There
are “too many unknowns to
make a prudent decision oth
erwise,” said Seuss.
In other news concerning
BPA, Don Amundsen, the co
operative’s office manager,
told the board he discovered
that WOEC has been over
charged for electricity by BPA
on a somewhat regular basis.
Just as WOEC m eters the
e le c tric ity th a t e n te rs o u r
homes, BPA meters the elec
tricity that enters WOEC sub
stations. There are several
different places where WOEC
receives its power from BPA
and each of these is metered.
Unlike our homes, where only
the amount of electricity used
is metered, BPA also meters
“demand” or peak usage. The
demand meter’s needle sticks
in the hig h e st p o s itio n
reached during the m onth
and is re se t by the m eter
reader.
If there is a major outage,
or if COOP linemen are work
ing on the lines, and the load
is switched from one substa
tion to another, BPA’s d e
mand meters are activated at
each substation for the same
power demand.
BPA adds the dem ands
from all substations together
when computing WOEC’s bill.
WOEC is supposed to notify
BPA when it switches loads,
but BPA doesn’t always issue
the proper credits, Amundsen
said.
He also discovered that
BPA occasionally “estimates”
WOEC’s power consumption
when BPA’s equipment fails.
Amundsen has forwarded ten
y e a rs of COOP pow er
records to BPA, pointing out
places where there are prob
lem s. BPA has alre a d y
agreed to issue refunds for
some of the more recent mis
charges.
¡-2505
W IL L B E CLOSED A T
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1421 COLUMBIA BLVD., ST. HELENS • 397-3450
VERNONIA
Adult & Family Services
2nd Thursday 1 -2:00 p.m., School District Ofc.
AFS
1st Wednesday
7:30 p.m., VHS Library
Alcoholics Anonymous
Fridays
8 p.m., 1st Baptist Church
Alcoholics Anonymous
Mon. & Thurs. 7 p. m.,64975 Neh. Hwy. N., 429-6063
American Cancer Society
2nd Wednesday
12:30 p.m., Golf Course
AWANA Clubs
Wednesdays 7- 8:30 p.m., Evangelical Church
Boosters
2nd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., VHS Library
Boy Scouts
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., LDS Church
Chamber of Commerce
2nd Wednesday
7:30 a.m., Country Kitchen
Cub Scouts
Tuesdays
7:00 p.m,, WGS Gym
Girl Scouts
Thursdays
6:30-8 p.m., Christian Church
Izaak Walton League
3rd Wednesday
For location call 429-7193
Jamboree Committee
1st Wednesday
7 p.m., VHS library
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., Lew’s Place
MTC Training & Placement
2nd Thursday 1- 2:00 p.m., School District Ofc.
Nehalem Valley Car Club
1st Tuesday
7 p.m., Crazy Charlie'
Oregon State Employ. Dept. 2nd Thursday 1-, 2:00 p.m., School District Ofc.
Preschool Story Hour
Wednesdays
10:30 a.m., City Library
Ridge Riders Saddle Club
Last Tuesday
7:30 p.m., City Library
Senior Center Directors
1st Friday
1 p.m., Senior Center
Senior & Disabled Services
2nd Thursday 1 2:00 p.m., Schoo, District Ofc.
TOPS
Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., 627 Adams
Vernonia Cares Directors
2nd Thursday*
7:30 p.m., 627 Adams
Vernonia City Council
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:30 p.m., City Library
Vernonia Grange
2nd Saturday
10:00 a.m., Grange Hal,
x ;
V e r n o n ia G a r b a g e T r a n s fe r S ta tio n
Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays
Vernonia Preschool Directors
1st Tuesday
Vernonia Rural Fire District
2nd Tuesday
Vernonia School District
2nd Thursday
Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday
WOEC Directors
3rd Tuesday
MIST-BIRKENFELD
Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Bd.
2nd Tuesday
7:30 p.m., Main Fire Station
M-B Firefighters Assoc. 1st, 2nd & 3rd Wednesdays 7 p.m., Main Fire Station
M-B Ambulance Assoc. 1 st, 2nd & 3rd Thursdays
7 p.m., Main Fire Station
Natal Grange
2nd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., Grange Hall
COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.)
Board of Commissioners
Wednesdays
10 a.m., Courthouse
Citizens for Senior Justice
2nd Tuesday
7 p.m., Sunset Park Church
COLCO Transportation
2nd Friday
10:30 a.m., Courthouse
County Council of Seniors
2nd Friday
1:00 p.m., Courthouse
Columbia ESD
3rd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., 800 Port Ave.
County Fair Board
2nd & 4th Tuesday 7 p.m., 4-H Bldg., Fairgrounds
County Parks Commission
2nd Wednesday
7 p.m., 1054 Oregon St.
Emergency Comm. Dist.
3rd Tuesday
7 p.m., Courthouse
Historical Society
4th Wednesday
Noon, location call 429-3713
Traffic Safety Commission
1st Wednesday
7 a.m., Village Inn
•January, April, July & October only
Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410,
or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 1206 State Avenue, Vernonia, OR 97064.
- *?
• I
7:00 p.m., City Library
7 p.m., 627 Adams
7:30 p.m., Fire Station
8 p.m., School District Office
7 p.m., Are Station
7 p.m., WOEC