Oregon electric cooperative leaders travel to Capitol Hill seeking disaster aid for storm damage— as well as relief from policies that could have disastrous consequences for their members
By Ted Case
The largest group from Oregon electric cooperatives ever to attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) legislative conference traveled to Washington, D.C., in early May to lobby their congressional delegation, key committees and the Trump administration on a range of proposals important to cooperative members.
NRECA’s legislative conference attracts nearly 2,000 electric cooperative leaders from across the country, but the timing of the rally was particularly relevant for Oregon.
In April, Oregon Governor Kate Brown requested a federal disaster declaration for counties devastated by the winter storms that closed roads and caused widespread power outages. The storms caused nearly $10,000,000 in damage for Roseburg-based Douglas Electric Cooperative (DEC) and $5,000,000 for Lane Electric, headquartered in Eugene.
Oregon electric cooperative leaders used a White House meeting to urge high-ranking Trump administration officials to approve Governor Brown’s disaster aid request.
Cooperative leaders also pressed officials with land management agencies to finalize regulations regarding vegetation management policies that will increase reliability of the electric grid and mitigate wildfires that swept across the West in 2018 because of trees falling into power lines.
Oregon cooperatives were strong supporters of legislation that passed in the previous Congress to streamline vegetation management practices, including offering congressional testimony on 2 separate occasions.
After heading to Capitol Hill, the leaders met with their senators and representatives, urging support for the Rural Act (S. 1032, H.R. 2147) that would protect electric cooperatives’ tax-exempt status as a result of an unintended consequence of the tax code. Cooperatives receive grants for a variety of purposes, including economic development and storm restoration. Because of tax law, these government grants could jeopardize a cooperative’s tax-exempt status, forcing difficult choices for cooperatives and their members.
The trip yielded positive results for Oregon cooperative leaders. Only days after returning from Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced he had approved disaster assistance to Oregon counties. Key members of the Oregon delegation also announced support for the Rural Act.