State Representative Jeff Morris
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative invites all members to attend the annual Ambassador’s Legislative Kick-Off meetings. There are meetings scheduled on Orcas, San Juan and Lopez Islands:
Eastsound: Thursday, October 7th 4:30 – 6:30 pm, OPALCO Office
Friday Harbor: Friday, October 8th 8:30 – 10:30 am, Earthbox Conference Room
Lopez: Friday, October 8th 1:30 – 3:30 pm, Lopez Library
The meeting agenda opens with a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Act (REA). Speakers include Representative Jeff Morris and Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association (WRECA) Manager Kent Lopez who will give us a preview of energy issues that the Washington State Legislature will be addressing in the upcoming session and discuss the importance of energy efficiency in the new energy landscape. There will be a question and answer session with OPALCO Manager Randy Cornelius following the presentations.
You don’t have to be signed up for OPALCO’s Ambassador Program to participate. Who is an Ambassador? Any OPALCO member who wants to be kept informed of the issues that have an effect on all co-op members (electric rates, energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon accountability and greenhouse gas emissions) may opt into the Ambassadors grass-roots advocacy program.
Refreshments will be served. RSVP to solson@opalco.com or 376-3537.
OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 95% greenhouse-gas free and is predominately generated by hydro-electric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937 to bring electricity to rural islanders
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This is a great thing that OPALCO and Suzanne Olson are doing. The are some important innovations and evolutions of our power system happening.
For one example, check out this story (link below) about how the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is innovating ways of clean reliable wind power.
The BPA is testing a promising smart-grid concept that would use residential water heaters to help manage the fluctuations of wind energy generation. The project will address two problems experienced on the grid: shortage of power during peak times and surges of power during windy periods, when the energy isn’t needed.
https://8020vision.com/2010/08/13/using-water-heaters-to-store-excess-wind-energy/