Annual Meeting & Cooperative Update

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Each year, Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative holds our Annual Meeting of the Membership and Board elections. It is an opportunity for us to engage OTEC member-owners and ensure democratic governance. Below you will find the 2024 report and cooperative highlights.

2025 Annual Meeting

2025 Annual Meeting Minutes (59.95 KB)

OTEC By The Numbers

Member Statistics

23863

Member-Owners

31823

Meters

Meters per line mile

Capital Credits

$3,000,000 capital credits returned to OTEC Member-owners in 2024

$57,500,000 capital credits retired since 1996

Oregon Average Rate: 12.73c per kwh, US average rate, 16c per kWh, and OTEC average rate, 10.08c per kWh

*Represents all-in residential rates including delivery charge and kWh

Cooperative Updates

Member Satisfaction

Our vision is to be in the top 10% in member satisfaction nationally. In 2024, OTEC's ACSI (American Consumer Satisfaction Index) score reached 84, moving us closer and closer to the top 10%. When we receive member feedback through surveys and other channels, we are thoughtful in making changes to best serve you, our member-owners, at the highest level possible. In those surveys, we measure member identity, how many members identify as member-owners instead of just customers, in which we received a 54%. We will continue to work to improve this so that those we serve recognize the benefit of being a member-owner of a cooperative instead of just another customer.

Community

Through unclaimed capital credits and donations made by you, the member-owners, the OTEC Member-Foundation supported:

$195,000 in scholarships

$25,000 to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Other community support:

9 Community Events visited with the Commitment to Community Trailer

$55,000 in charitable contributions, including the school sponsorship program

$11,430 in $10 adders to every fair animal!

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Update:
17,631 Books Mailed in 2024

Giving Back to You

We distributed $654,857 in energy efficiency rebates, getting money back to our member-owners to save energy and reduce costs.

Wildfire Mitigation

Despite one of the worst wildfire seasons in history, our team worked closely with emergency services to keep our system safe. We held town hall meetings to educate member-owners on wildfire preparedness and OTEC’s wildfire mitigation plan, ensuring our community is well-informed and prepared.

Commitment to Safety

Safety is our number one core value. We maintained a record of 474 days without any incidents, surpassing our previous record of 322 days. This achievement highlights our dedication to maintaining a safe working environment for our team and community. We educated over 1,100 school-aged children on electricity safety and 6 rural fire departments and community partners using Virtual Reality (VR).

Reliability

We know reliability is important to our member-owners, businesses, and community. We work around the clock performing maintenance to avoid and respond to outages. In 2024, we saw improved response times, adding to our 99% reliability, reflecting our commitment to reliability and service excellence.

Operations and Maintenance:

Our team provided mutual assistance during ice storms and completed 1,015 miles of vegetation management line work, the most we have ever done in one year. This extensive work ensures our system remains robust and reliable.

Capital Improvements:

We invested $5.9 million in projects to improve reliability, including replacing old structures and upgrading lines. These investments are crucial for maintaining and enhancing our infrastructure.

Technology:

We installed new switches and upgraded our system to restore power faster, demonstrating our commitment to leveraging technology for better service delivery.

Financial Data

Balance Sheet

Assets
	2024	2023
Non-current assets
Utility plant (net)	$114,807,526	$111,540,241
Other property & investments	$9,550,678	$9,154,139
Total utility plant & investments	$124,358,204	$120,694,380

Current assets
Cash & temporary investments	$7,460,725	$6,151,117
Notes & accounts receivable (net)	$6,613,016	$6,965,044
Material & supplies - electric	$6,957,731	$7,324,848
Other current & accrued assets	$998,991	$897,815
Total current assets	$22,030,463	$21,338,824

Deferred debits	$331,936	$377,836

Total assets	$146,720,603	$142,411,040

Statement of Revenues & Expenses

Equities and Liabilities
	2024	2023
Equities & Margins
Memberships	$234	$233
Patronage capital	$82,669,278	$82,112,154
Other equities	$3,991,681	$3,844,088
Total equities & margins	$86,661,193	$85,956,475

Long-term debt
Mortgage notes	$46,024,980	$42,581,551
Other long-term liabilities	$1,085,334	$963,449
Total long-term debt	$47,110,314	$43,545,000

Current liabilities
Notes & accounts payable	$4,928,713	$5,182,516
Other current & accrued liabilities	$6,356,769	$5,710,435
Total current liabilities	$11,285,482	$10,892,951

Deferred credits	$1,663,614	$2,016,614
Total equities & liabilities	$146,720,603	$142,411,040

		2024	2023
Total revenues		$59,737,394	$59,687,232
Operating expenses
	Cost of purchased power	$25,752,993	$23,229,241
	Distribution expenses	$8,760,444	$7,746,654
	Consumer accounts expense	$2,379,573	$2,071,146
	Administrative & general expenses	$10,571,281	$9,067,144
	Depreciation & amortization expense	$5,104,982	$4,979,926
	Taxes	$1,585,792	$1,444,079
	Interest expense	$1,994,440	$1,803,951
	Total cost of electric service	$56,149,505	$50,342,141

Patronage capital or margins		$3,587,889	$9,345,091

2024 Annual Meeting Minutes (64.52 KB)

2024 Annual Meeting of the Membership Recording:

General Counsel Message 6:24

Board President, Cooperative Update 8:38

CEO Message 19:43

OTEC Member Foundation Update 1:28:42

Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is a private, non-profit electric cooperative which is owned by the members it serves and is governed by a Board of Directors who are elected by the member-owners and are accountable to the member-owners. The Board of Directors makes business and policy decisions in setting the direction of OTEC. Directors are elected to serve three-year terms.

To ensure strong local leadership, member-owners elect directors on a rotating basis from each of OTEC's four districts.

If you are a member-owner of the cooperative and are interested in running for the OTEC Board of Directors, please review the following documents along with the cooperative Bylaws.

In 2024, elections were held for three OTEC Board positions, the following Directors were elected:
• Position 4, Union County, Incumbent G. Austin Bingaman.
• Position 5, Baker County, Incumbent Wayne Overton.
• Position 6, Grant County: Incumbent Gary Miller.