Wallowa County’s proposed “Community Energy Strategic Plan” lays out a comprehensive, coordinated, proactive and farsighted strategy to become more self-reliant in meeting our future energy needs.

By developing a community-based energy system, we can become more independent from electric rate hikes imposed by Pacific Power, a giant investor-owned corporate utility, which holds a monopoly as our sole source of grid-provided electricity. In case you didn’t know, Pacific Power is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, ranked as the largest publicly traded company in the world, by Forbes magazine in 2022, based on sales, profit, assets and market value ($741.5 billion)!

The plan would lead to more independence from overall energy cost increases to the residents of Wallowa County, which rose by 40% between 2021 and 2022. Grants would be sought to enable energy-efficiency retrofits and weatherization for Wallowa County homeowners who have to spend an inordinately high percentage of their income on energy costs for electricity and heating due to inefficient building design and materials of many older homes. Such projects would, in turn, provide opportunities for local jobs and training in the construction trades.

The visionary microgrid would lead toward independence from the larger regional and interstate electric grid in the event of widespread power disruptions due to various potential disasters, including wildfires and extreme weather events, earthquakes (the “big one” off Oregon’s coast), or the increasing number of sabotage attempts and cyberattacks on electric grid operation.

Creating a microgrid would enable Wallowa County to provide continuity of electric power to critical infrastructure, e.g., the hospital, assisted living facilities, fire stations, community shelters, drinking water supply and sewer treatment facilities, emergency services, as well as fuel and grocery suppliers.

The plan also includes strategies to help Wallowa County farmers and ranchers to modernize their aging irrigation systems, permanently lowering their electric utility bills, increasing operational efficiency, and conserving water, thereby also benefitting fish and wildlife habitat.

At the recent public forum hosted by the Wallowa County commissioners to discuss the draft plan, a number of commenters vented their anger and expressed their belief that the plan, using a template provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, was really a covert, nefarious attempt by the Biden administration and the federal government to somehow take away county residents’ freedom and liberty. Fear was expressed that the federal grant opportunities identified to help implement parts of the plan would have hidden “strings attached” designed to force individuals to undertake energy conservation and efficiency actions, which would infringe on their individual freedom and ultimately result in increased taxes imposed by the county.

Our county commissioners have rightly provided additional opportunities for public input, due to questions and concerns of residents about the Strategic Energy Plan. The commissioners must now use their best judgment in evaluating the factual credibility of the concerns expressed and then exercise leadership in prudently guiding Wallowa County towards a more independent, durable and resilient energy future.