Oregon will receive $157 million from the federal government to help connect about 17,000 homes and businesses to the internet, the White House announced Wednesday.
Utilities
Portland General Electric to talk fire mitigation plans in North Plains June 6
PGE will host dinner and a discussion about their wildfire mitigation plans and power safety shutoffs in 2023 and 2024 June 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the North Plains Elementary School.
PGE opens community resource center at Jim’s Market in Banks for charging, ice, info
Portland General Electric has established one community resource center in Washington County, located inside Jim’s Market in Banks, to charge phones, get ice, and find info about power shutoffs in the face of critical wildfire risk.
PGE will shut power off in Gales Creek and surrounding areas beginning Friday morning
Power will be shut off in an effort to reduce wildfire risk in ten areas across PGE’s service territory starting Friday. In Gales Creek, power will be cut sometime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday, and may be restored starting Saturday evening.
Electric utilities submit final plans to prevent wildfires, shutoffs as season ramps up
Nearly all of Oregon’s 41 electric utilities have submitted their final plans to the state for preventing wildfires and managing shutoffs, according to the Public Utilities Commission.
Past-due PGE customers may qualify for matching grant to pay bills
Power lines near Forest Grove. File photo: Chas Hundley Portland General Electric sent an email to some customers on March 10 announcing it will match customer’s payments on past-due balances between April 1 and June 30. “It’s been a tough year, but you’re not alone in dealing with your past-due[Read More…]
Is fiber coming to rural western Washington County? Perhaps, says Ziply
Ziply’s current broadband network in northwest Oregon. Blue is broadband, green is fiber. Photo courtesy Ziply website The rural portions of Washington County have always struggled to gain access to high speed internet, with some regions solely relying on satellite or microwave options, while others are on copper lines now[Read More…]
Goodbye Frontier, hello Ziply
A Frontier Communications truck in downtown Gales Creek. Photo: Chas Hundley OREGON – Frontier Communications officially completed the sale of their operations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana on Friday to the company now known as Ziply Fiber. The deal closed at $1.35 billion, according to Ziply, which is headquartered[Read More…]
Utility companies could charge Oregon ratepayers for electric vehicle infrastructure improvements under proposed HB 4066
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley SALEM – House Bill 4066, a prospective law that passed on a 7-2 vote that would allow the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) to provide electric companies with the ability to recover costs for electric vehicle investments from ratepayers, passed the[Read More…]
911 service restored in Washington County
Power lines near Forest Grove. File photo: Chas Hundley WASHINGTON COUNTY – Service for landlines with the 357, 359, and 992 prefix has been restored after an earlier 911 outage, according Forest Grove Fire & Rescue. The restoration came at 12:52 p.m., according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, and[Read More…]