Okanogan County Electric Co-Op
93 W Chewuch Rd, Winthrop, Washington, United States

OCEC is committed to sending outage texts and email notifications during regular business hours and will make every effort to send them during major off hour outages. Follow the steps below to sign-up for OCEC Texting.

• Click HERE to login to the OCEC member portal. If you don't have a login and password, use the first 6 digits of your member number (found on your bill), your password will be the same.
• Click on "My Alerts".
• Type in your Email Address and Mobile Number.
• Check the boxes of the automated alerts and reminders that you'd like to receive.
• Click "Submit".
• You will receive a text message with instructions on how to finish the Opt-In progrss.
• Reply back to the message by typing start then hit "Send" on your phone to Opt-in.
• If you wish to cancel reply back to the message by typing stop then hit "Send" on your phone to Opt-out.
• If you need assistance signing up for OCEC Texting call the office at (509) 996-2228.

Once signed up and opted-in you will start receiving the alerts and reminders you chose, along with messages from OCEC regarding outages when possible.

Underground vs Overhead

  Whenever a major weather-related catastrophe occurs or land is being developed, the question of placing overhead power lines underground surges. The answer to the proverbial question, “Why can’t overhead power lines be placed underground?” is, “They can be, but it’s expensive.”

Higher initial construction costs. HiLine Engineering reports that 1 mile of new overhead costs around $15,000 compared to $25,000 for underground. For a new electrical service with a 25 kVA transformer overhead costs approximately $2,500 compared to $5,000 for underground.

Maintenance costs. The present worth of the maintenance costs associated with underground lines is difficult to assess. Many variables are involved, and many assumptions are required to arrive at what would be a guess at best. Predicting the performance of an underground line is difficult, yet the maintenance costs associated with an underground line are significant and one of the major impediments to the more extensive use of underground construction. Major factors that impact the maintenance costs for underground transmission lines include:electrical energy that:  

• Life Expectancy  The life expectancy of an underground line is 30 years compared to 30-50 years for overhead wire. The insulation used on underground wire is susceptible to insulation deterioration because of the loading and unloading cycles constantly placed upon them. Once insulation fails faults are common and wire has to be replaced.
• Cable Repairs  If and when an underground fault occurs the cost of finding its location, trenching, cable splicing, and re-embedment is sometimes five to 10 times more expensive than repairing a fault in an overhead line where the conductors are visible, readily accessible and easier to repair.
• Line Outage Durations  A recent study reported that overhead outages lasted an average of 92 minutes compared to 145 minutes for underground. The durations of underground line outages vary widely depending on the operating voltage, site conditions, failure, and material availability.

OCEC Community Solar Project

• Funded by 31 Members – Built at the OCEC site
• Activated on September 7, 2010
• Produced 29,000 kWh in first year
• 104 Silicon Energy 195-watt solar modules total 20,280 Watts of generating power in peak sunshine
• There are 13 modules in series strings and 2 independent strings per inverter
• 4 efficient 4,200-watt inverters convert DC power the AC power

Winthrop Community Solar Project

•  Sponsored by the Partnership for a Sustainable Methow and owned by 49 OCEC members
• Activated July 1 2011; the estimated annual energy production 32,500 kWh benefits the Town of Winthrop
• 120 Silicon Energy 190-watt solar modules total 22,800 Watts
• 5 inverters convert DC power to AC from 10 strings of 12 solar modules each

Energy Solutions designed and managed both projects.  Norwil Electric, Bart & Company, and Doug Haase Excavating installed the solar systems.  The Solar modules and inverter systems are manufactured in Marysville WA. Cascade Concrete supplied the ecology blocks, and the steel pipes for the racking system at the Winthrop project came from North ValleyLumber.