Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative, Inc. is dedicated to securing affordable, reliable sources of power to serve your needs. We do so along with 14 other member-owned electric utilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming through PNGC Power. This opportunity has been available since 1996 when PNGC Power became the first electric cooperative in the country to obtain a federal power marketing license. With this license, the door was opened to cooperatively purchase wholesale power and resell that power to members, other utilities and on the power market.
Nearly all the wholesale power we purchase to meet the needs of our members is generated at the hydroelectric facilities that are part of the Federal Columbia River Power System and marketed through the Bonneville Power Administration. CCEC is also part owner of Coffin Butte, a renewable, landfill energy project near Corvallis, Oregon. The vast majority of our power is generated using water as "fuel," which means we have little, or no, carbon footprint. Generating electricity using water is emissions-free, renewable and reliable. The hydrologic or water cycle recycles the earth's valuable water supply through a process that involves evaporation, condensation and precipitation. The sun is the energy that powers this remarkable process of renewal. Water from the oceans, rivers, lakes and even puddles evaporates and warm air currents rising from the earth's surface lift the evaporated water vapor up into the atmosphere. Once these air currents reach the cooler layers of the atmosphere, the water vapor condenses around and clings on to fine particles in the air, forming clouds and eventually falls as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail. The water collected in rivers during this process is used by the hydropower system as "fuel" to produce electricity. The water is always available in the river system, which means it is very reliable because it is easy to turn it on and off when needed. While other renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, have a small carbon footprint, they are not as reliable because electricity is not generated when the wind doesn't blow and when the sun doesn't shine.
PNGC Power staff match load requirements and resource needs and also provide forecasting and analytical services. PNGC Power is governed by a board of directors comprised of member utility managers, including CCEC. The relationship among the talented working board, staff and each member electric cooperative's local, personal service is a powerful combination. Together, member utilities are able to realize economies of scale, taking advantage of the same types of services and technical expertise typically only available to larger utilities.
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