Manager’s Message – February 2026

I’m excited to share that Lane Electric and the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) have agreed to an Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement for the cooperative to take over electrical service to the lower McKenzie and unite service in the river valley.

This decision reflects a collaborative effort to ensure a service transition that benefits both utilities. With the agreement in place, Lane Electric and EWEB are now moving from planning to the detailed work required to complete the transition. We anticipate welcoming 3,300 EWEB customers who live between Thurston Road and Vida to Lane Electric Cooperative as member-owners beginning on May 1, 2026.

What does this mean for you, our existing members?

Uniting the McKenzie River under Lane Electric’s rural service model will allow for better allocation of resources and capital investments, improved long-term strategic alignment, and strengthen our financials, helping to safeguard against significant rate increases. With this new territory we will be adding additional headcount, ensuring our strong level of service.

This is the most significant development at this utility in our recent history. It comes as we celebrate being more than halfway through our advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project to upgrade meters. We’re also readying the launch of a new website and look forward to many more milestones to share with you this year.

I’d like to thank our board of directors for diligently evaluating and approving this opportunity to unite the McKenzie under Lane Electric’s rural service model.

Our staff has also done a tremendous job working through the details of taking on this new territory.

I look forward to sharing more on these projects with you soon.

General Manager Scott Coe