||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE |||
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is inviting all members to participate in a newly launched Renewable Energy Survey designed to gather community insight on future energy programs, priorities, and opportunities.
As OPALCO continues planning for a resilient, sustainable energy future, member feedback will play a critical
role in shaping the cooperative’s long-term renewable energy strategy.
Members can take the survey online using the provided link or by scanning the QR code featured in OPALCO’s
recent social media communications. To access the survey, participants will need their member number, which
can be found by locating the first five digits of their OPALCO account number. Visual guides have been shared on
social media as well to help members identify this number both in SmartHub and on their paper bills. For
additional questions about member number or accessing the survey, email communications@opalco.com or call
360-376-3500.
OPALCO has partnered with a research firm, DHM, to conduct a member survey that will be open until
December 12, 2025. OPALCO encourages all members to take a few minutes to share their thoughts. Those
needing assistance accessing the survey or who are experiencing any technical issues with the survey can reach
out to the help desk email: info@surveysinsight.com.
Visit the link to access the OPALCO Renewable Energy Survey: https://research-polls.com/uRk1
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is our member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,400 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and isgenerated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937.
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I received a link for this survey but didn’t complete it because many of the questions were obviously biased in favor of OPALCO’s priorities. It felt like more of a public relations campaign than a legitimate effort to gather feedback. Here are a few examples of the choices that respondents could select:
• “San Juan County should keep current policies in place even if it means continued reliance on the mainland for energy, knowing that the frequency of energy blackouts will rise”
• ” I prefer to keep current land use policies, even if it limits the development of reliable energy sources and may result in occasional blackouts”
• “Current permitting processes should not be changed or streamlined regardless of urgency or potential power blackouts”
• “Not build renewable projects, knowing that energy blackouts may become more prevalent in the future”
By repeatedly invoking the threat of blackouts, and wording the survey questions in such a way that support for current permitting and land use policies is tacitly connected to blackouts, it felt like OPALCO was using scare tactics to convince respondents to provide the results that OPALCO wanted.
Consider this a PSA for anyone who’s considering the survey. Suggesting that we’re all going to freeze in the dark if land use policy doesn’t change is not the sort of nuanced approach that we should be having over this complex subject.