ORECA President Joe Van Meter closes out our annual meeting with his State of the Statewide address! We’re grateful to our members for their continued support of all of our work in 2025 and in years to come.

We gave the first ever ORECA Tenacious Spirit Award to Rep. @PamMarshORHD5 for her tenacity in working hard for Oregon’s electric cooperatives. She never shies away from some of the toughest policy battles, and Oregon’s electric co-ops are stronger for it.

ORECA was honored to give our most prestigious award - the Cooperator of the Year Award - to Representative Mark Owens for his tireless and unwavering support of Oregon’s electric cooperatives. We couldn’t be more grateful for his support.

We’re nearing the conclusion of our Annual Meeting program with an overview from Public Power Council CEO and Executive Director Scott Simms about the many challenges facing Public Power at the national level.

Excited to hear about the future of nuclear power in the Pacific Northwest from Greg Cullen at @EnergyNorthwest. Couldn’t come at a better time as demand forecasts are escalating significantly. We’re excited to explore how #NuclearEnergy can help!

Now we’re hearing from @richardfagerlin at Peak Solutions about how electric cooperatives can #FutureProof their boards and prepare their electric cooperatives for the next generation of leadership. Excellent information.

ORECA’s 2025 Annual Meeting is off and running as Scott Cifrese, the premier wildfire defense attorney in the western United States, explains the legalese of wildfire lawsuits. Great presentation by the expert.

We’re wrapping up our Energy Issues Summit with a presentation from @UOHazardsLab on their use of AI powered technology to predict, detect, and respond to natural emergencies - like wildfire and the Cascadia subduction zone!

We’re now hearing from Josh Lozano, Director of Energy Policy for @BentonREA, about the challenges created by Washington’s Cap and Trade program as we prepare for the Oregon legislature to potentially consider a program of its own.

After Federated CEO Phil Irwin opened the 2025 ORECA Energy Issues Summit, we’re underway with a presentation from the @armchair_engr as he explains his best practices when telling the hydropower story.

ORECA’s 2025 Annual Meeting is underway with our @NRECANews training “Navigating in the Era of Uncertainty” - fitting since our annual meeting theme is Resiliency in a Time of Uncertainty! We’re looking forward to the week ahead!

Salem Electric General Manager Tony Schacher and Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange CEO Phil Irwin did a fantastic job testifying before Oregon’s Senate Energy and Environment Committee on the risks of wildfire to electric co-ops and our insurance!

ORECA was grateful to be invited to speak at the Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative Annual Meeting. Great food with great people! Thanks again to CBEC - we can’t wait to be back.

ORECA and @CentralElectric are grateful to Senator @TheBroadman and @RepEmersonLevy for attending CEC’s board meeting this afternoon to talk about the coming legislative session and what challenges Oregon’s electric co-ops are facing.

ORECA’s Ted Case was honored to share the stage with Harney Electric Cooperative’s Fred Flippence at the @NVRuralElectric Annual Meeting to share the story of Oregon’s electric co-ops bringing electricity to rural Guatemala!

A GREAT LISTEN - Interested in learning more about the dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers? Listen to @NWRiverPartners’s Clark Mather explain the many benefits they provide on @OTECooperative’s Power Eastern Oregon Podcast here:

Excited to hear from Jon Kloor with @ConsumersPower at the @NWPPAssoc NIC Conference. Jon is sharing CPI’s industry leading approach to communicating about wildfire risk and wildfire mitigation.

Wrapping up the Oregon Electrification Leadership Summit with a message from Salem Electric, @laneelectric, and @BusinessOregon on the connections between beneficial electrification and economic development!

Next we’re hearing from @awscloud, @NRECANews, @portlandgeneral, and @ODOEnergy about the growth of data centers in the Pacific Northwest and around the country!

The Oregon Electrification Leadership Summit rolls on! Great to hear from @portlandgeneral CEO Maria Pope over lunch.