History

Central Electric was established March 29, 1940. Today, CEC maintains 3886 miles of overhead and underground lines which provide electricity to 30,900 accounts.

The 1949 CEC line crew with John Norlin, CEC general manager, at left. To Norlin's left are George Wolfe, an unidentified BPA inspector, A.L. Chaplin, Pete Sturza, Marvin Cook, Merrill Cooper, E.A. "Butch" Sturza, L.A. "Leck" Skeen, Weldon "Slim" Hix, Dean Weaver, Jim Abbot, E.R. "Bud" Smith, and Clarence Kimball.

What is Central Electric Cooperative?

	CEC is a not-for-profit, consumer-owned corporation operated for the benefit of YOU.
	CEC is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors elected from the membership. Annual meetings are held on the 2nd Friday in April.
	CEC must reinvest earnings in excess of operating expenses OR return "profits" to its members in the form of "capital credits" or dividends.

 

Mileposts in CEC History

1940	Rural residents file Articles of Association with State of Oregon for Central Electric Cooperative, Inc.; elect nine charter members for board of directors; capitalize the company with $244,000 from Rural Electrification Administration.
1941	Board Chairman Carl H. Baker throws switch at Deschutes Junction Substation, energizing 11 Redmond area farms.
1949	To help finance lines, poles and transformer infrastructure, CEC implements Capital Credits Plan, still in effect today.
1956	Election of board of directors changed from "at large" selection to representation based on geographic districts reflective of communities served.
1962	Oregon Public Utility Commission approves Central Electric service territory boundaries, resolving differences over exclusivity with Pacific Power & Light.
1977	Redmond Chamber of Commerce gives Community Improvement Award to CEC for co-op's new Redmond headquarters campus.
1978	CEC initiates energy conservation program, later expanded to Home Energy Efficiency Program in 1982, which is still in effect today.
1986	Capital Credits repaid to members exceeds $1 million.
1995	CEC and 11 other cooperative members of Power Resources Cooperative build and operate 2.5 megawatt Coffin Butte landfill gas-to-electricity renewable energy facility; expanded in 2007 to 5.66 megawatts.
2001	CEC achieves a 60-year record low for power outage time per member-18 minutes, 31 seconds per customer.
2001	CEC completes a comprehensive pole numbering project; over 36,000 power poles are tagged with permanent identification numbers.
2007	Capital Credits repaid to members exceeds $10 million.