Case in Point – Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Assn

29 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point – July 2026

Oregonians from across the state have spoken. But they are not being heard. Nearly 5,000 hardworking Oregon residents—represented by clusters in the map...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2026

Last month, the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association hosted 19 power utility executives from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2026

“Too many Oregonians are struggling with high energy bills.” –Governor Tina Kotek There is nothing like the March Madness college basketball tournament. Life...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2026

Forgive me in advance if I sound a little nostalgic. Recently, I told the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association Board of Directors I...

30 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2025

Case in Point “What’s on your bucket list?” I posed this question to members of the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association Board of...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2025

What can Oregon’s electric cooperatives learn from McDonald’s introduction of the Egg McMuffin in the 1970s? The fascinating answer to this question was...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2025

In July, the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association hosted a tour of Bonneville Lock and Dam on the Columbia River. I have toured...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2025

According to the International Energy Agency, more than 750 million people globally lack access to electricity. While that number is getting smaller each...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2025

What is the electric cooperative difference? An Oregon electric co-op general manager reminded me what makes us unique after sharing a heartbreaking letter...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2025

As you know, last month signaled the dawn of a new Oregon Legislative Assembly, a new U.S. Congress, and a new presidential administration....

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2024

The season ended in one bad inning. For diehard New York Yankee fans like the Case family, it was a magical season right...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2024

While traveling recently on a lonely road to an annual meeting for 1 of Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s members, I heard a...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2024

Wildfire was all around me. Well, the names of wildfires, anyway: Falls, Darlene 3, and Larch Creek. These innocuous monikers did not capture...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2024

My son is a high school baseball player, and I often send him motivational material that elicits a lot of eye-rolling. It’s usually...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2024

10 years ago, I wrote the book “Power Plays,” a political history of rural electrification profiling the giants who have shaped our industry....

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2024

The Oregon Legislature was 2 months away, but for Oregon co-op leaders, it was already off to a promising start. That was the...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2023

Each year, during the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association annual meeting, a panel of electric co-op leaders discuss challenges and opportunities in our...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2023

If I had a nickel for every time my daughter, Malia, asked me, “Dad, what is your job?” I may have an easier...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2023

For many Americans, congressional hearings are often seen as distant events detached from real world issues, usually reserved for lobbyists in ornate Capitol...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2023

Until last year, Harney Electric General Manager Fred Flippence had never been to Washington, D.C. Now, after 3 work trips in a year,...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2023

I’ve written extensively about the days the lights came on in rural America in my two books on rural electrification. As it turns...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2023

The Oregon Legislative Assembly is underway in Salem, with leaders of both parties pledging to take on some big challenges that were front...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2022

She hadn’t responded to my email, which was odd because normally Erika Paleck wrote back to me within minutes. While she was a...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point – November 2022

Last month, I participated in a keynote panel at the Oregon Connections Conference in Ashland on the status of broadband deployment in our...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2022

While it’s hard to dispute our political process has its challenges, sometimes a bit of common sense emerges and gives us hope. In...

01 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point – September 2022

The sun bears down on us as we stand on a ridgeline at Mary’s Peak—the highest mountain on Oregon’s coast range—looking down at...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2022

There seems to be no end to studies about the future of the lower Snake River dams—a critical component of the Federal Columbia...

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point – July 2022

This month, I was honored to finish my term as the president of the Rural Electric Statewide Managers Association (RESMA). This group of...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2022

The fencing, it appeared, had been taken down, making Capitol Hill look less like a fortress. It had been three years since I...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point – May 2022

You may have noticed this month’s Ruralite feature story has a different look and tone. We are not writing about the future of...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2022

The question isn’t who is running for governor of Oregon. The question is, “Who isn’t?” And why not? It’s the first time in...

01 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point — March 2022

The Oregon Legislature will soon close its 35-day short session after tackling a few big-ticket items before the political season begins. Just like...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point — February 2022

It was a rough way to start the year in the Pacific Northwest. As this month’s feature story details, electric co-ops took a...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point — January 2022

A new year always brings change, but 2022 is promising upheaval across Oregon’s political landscape. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio has announced his retirement...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point — December 2021

How do you find a silver lining in a pandemic? It’s a hard task. But Wasco Electric Director Bob Durham certainly found one...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point — November 2021

It was, as they say in Hollywood, a production nearly two years in the making. While that was the promotion for Cecil DeMille’s...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point — October 2021

A few months ago, I wrote about being free from the grips of the pandemic and how life was going to resume to...

01 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point — September 2021

My wife is Hawaiian, and that has its benefits. We vacationed on the islands this summer, taking advantage of a few hideaway beaches...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point — August 2021

Who do you trust when things are on the line? If you are a Portland Trail Blazer fan, the answer is obvious: Damian...

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point — July 2021

How will we be remembered? That question is a central theme that runs through the books of presidential historian and best-selling author Doris...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point — June 2021

Now we know how the cicadas feel. No, we have not been buried underground for 17 years in subterranean lairs like the Brood...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point — May 2021

As I write this column, the Oregon House of Representatives is preparing to consider Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association (ORECA)-supported legislation (HB 2654)...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point — April 2021

If you pay attention to news about the electric utility industry, you will hear and read a lot about a future with “100%...

02 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point — March 2021

I live next to a forest, and on the evening of Friday, February 12, I thought Paul Bunyan was outside my window. As...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point — February 2021

“I need you to disappear.” I heard this request as a young Capitol Hill staffer when a Republican congressman asked a Democratic colleague...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point — January 2021

“What do you want to do when the pandemic is over?” I asked my children this question over the holidays and received answers...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point — December 2020

I guess it is the new normal that conducting your association’s annual meeting in the shadow of an exercise bike is no big...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point — November 2020

I wondered what the woman in the flowered dress was searching for in the rubble. Surprisingly, there was not a trace of smoke...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point — October 2020

We had to decide what to take. But the real question was, “What do we really need?” Evacuating our home was not something...

10 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point — September 2020

I thought for sure Gov. Kate Brown’s staff would cancel our meeting. She is, after all, an exceptionally busy leader dealing with multiple...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point — August 2020

There are countless differing perspectives about the coronavirus epidemic, but hopefully we all agree the loss of life is tragic, wherever it occurs....

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point — July 2020

I took a call from National Public Radio the other day, which I concede is not a regular occurrence. The reporter, who was...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point — June 2020

OK, I was wrong. A few months ago, we published my column expressing hope that I would soon be writing about some topic...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point — May 2020

I run the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association under the watchful eye of Charlton Heston. He’s glaring down in my new home office...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point — April 2020

This is the last column I ever wanted to write. I’d rather use this space to write about anything else related to electric...

01 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point — March 2020

Oregon’s electric cooperative leaders are some of the friendliest people I have encountered. They are reasonable, courteous to a fault and slow to...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point — February 2020

Don’t blink. The Oregon Legislature convenes this month, and there are some large questions to be answered. Unlike the odd-year slog of a...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point — January 2020

It was a good way to end the year. In 2019, I used this page several times to advocate for passage of the...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point — December 2019

We packed a lot into the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association annual meeting last month. We had excellent presentations from energy experts, legislators,...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point — November 2019

One of the most challenging things about planning an Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association annual meeting is not what content to include in...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point — October 2019

The other day, I looked up from my computer at work and observed a group of deer right outside my window looking at...

01 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point — September 2019

I am not what you would call a daredevil. Sure, I like adventure as much as the next guy, but it’s more along...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point — August 2019

The story is familiar: Forests are burning and oceans are rising because of climate change. Something needed to be done. The solution? Cap-and-trade...

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point — July 2019

What is that on the cover of our magazine? A graphic of a U.S. Senate bill? We have a tradition of putting extraordinary...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point — June 2019

Recently, I drove 3½ hours to attend an annual meeting of one of my electric cooperative members. It was a long day for...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point—May 2019

My middle-school-age daughter is studying government, and it’s been a bit humbling. She is a smart girl, and I’ve looked at her homework....

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point—April 2019

As evidenced by our feature story this month, this winter tested the strength of the Oregon rural electric program like I have not...

01 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point — March 2019

There will be plenty to talk about. That is my message to the scores of electric cooperative leaders who will descend upon Salem...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point — February 2019

Any organization is smart to look ahead, but occasionally you also need to return to your roots. In January, the Oregon Rural Electric...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point — January 2019

Well, that went fast. It was 10 years ago last month that the Cases rolled into Oregon from Washington, D.C., during one of...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point — December 2018

Last month, I had the opportunity to interview former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a post-election forum sponsored by the National Rural Utilities...

31 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – November 2018

“Who do you have coming this year?” It’s a question I get quite often from my members around annual meeting time. It’s the...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2018

My family and I are big fans of the Mission Impossible movies and Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise....

01 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point – September 2018

Summer is winding down, and school is in session for my kids. Thank goodness. No longer will I have to wither under 90-degree...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2018

The other day, I met Amelia Earhart. OK, not the Amelia Earhart, the legendary aviator who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937....

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point – July 2018

One of the highlights of my summer is ORECA’s mid-year meeting in July. As part of the meeting, my board of directors and...

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2018

It’s not easy to pass a new law. I have watched countless bills be introduced and then fail to get a congressional hearing,...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point – May 2018

I had to admit to a little nostalgia, even though the ornate U.S. House of Representatives committee room largely represented a history of...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2018

It was right under my nose—or rather, in my mailbox—the whole time. When we moved from the Washington, D.C., area to Wilsonville, our...

01 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point – March 2018

How’s it going to end? As a former fiction writer, that’s the question I wanted my readers to be asking, breathlessly turning pages...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2018

For the past few months, the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association has worked collaboratively with the Oregon Legislature’s Clean Energy Jobs Utilities and...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point – January 2018

The Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association wrapped up the year by celebrating its 75th anniversary at the annual meeting in Salem in November....

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2017

In November, legislative work groups in Salem concluded their efforts to write a cap-and-trade bill for the 2018 short session. Conceived by state...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point – November 2017

ORECA turned 75 years old this year—a landmark we will celebrate this month at our annual meeting. In preparation for the celebration, I...

01 Oct

Case in Point

Case in Point – October 2017

“It seems like the apocalypse is upon us.” A friend of mine made that observation in early September as what seemed like every...

01 Sep

Case in Point

Case in Point – September 2017

How do you tell the secretary of energy that his policy on the sale of the power marketing administrations is misguided and punitive?...

01 Aug

Case in Point

Case in Point – August 2017

What happened in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 21, 2017, reminds me of Shirley Povich’s classic lead paragraph in the Washington...

01 Jul

Case in Point

Case in Point – July 2017

I have a few random thoughts as we pass the halfway point of the year, the Oregon Legislature wraps up and the U.S....

01 Jun

Case in Point

Case in Point – June 2017

The word seems to be getting out. Recently, a bipartisan group of Oregon legislators wrote Gov. Kate Brown urging her to “constructively participate...

01 May

Case in Point

Case in Point – May 2017

There are not a lot of new ideas coming out of Washington, D.C., but there are a lot of dumb old ones. I...

01 Apr

Case in Point

Case in Point – April 2017

No one can say electric cooperative leaders don’t have heart. We are only a few weeks removed from ORECA’s Legislative Day in Salem,...

01 Mar

Case in Point

Case in Point – March 2017

Oregon electric cooperative leaders will descend upon the state Capitol this month to promote common-sense policies that allow us to provide our members...

01 Feb

Case in Point

Case in Point – February 2017

Opening the box isn’t exactly like opening a Christmas present, but there is still a sense of anticipation. The scene is the opening...

01 Jan

Case in Point

Case in Point – January 2017

One of my favorite holiday events each year is our annual co-op lunch in Salem with our state legislators. It’s a bit of...

01 Dec

Case in Point

Case in Point – December 2016

It has been a long time since I’ve seen so many stories on rural America—about four years. It seems that during every presidential...

01 Nov

Case in Point

Case in Point – November 2016

Not one of the several hundred attendees of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Region 7 and 9 ACRE breakfast in October believed...