Cottage Grove council agrees to explore EPUD service, directs staff to scope feasibility study

The Cottage Grove City Council voted unanimously to ask staff to prepare a statement of interest in exploring service by Emerald People’s Utility District (EPUD) and to draft a scope for a third‑party feasibility study comparing EPUD and incumbent Pacific Power.

The move followed a presentation by EPUD General Manager Kyle Rodman, who told the council the district had heard community interest in expanding service into the city’s downtown core and was willing to work with city staff on a feasibility study. “We are not here to push this effort on you; this is 100% the choice of the city and of your citizens,” Rodman said, urging the council to indicate whether EPUD should spend additional time pursuing an acquisition or service expansion.

Rodman and EPUD operations staff highlighted several claims to support their case: EPUD said its rates are roughly 30% below those of their predecessor in the region, pointed to a multi‑decade track record of capital investment and cited high customer satisfaction and an investment‑grade credit rating. “We are 30% below our predecessor Pacific Power,” Rodman said while summarizing a bill‑comparison slide. EPUD’s operations manager noted the district restored district‑wide service after the January 2024 ice storm and said crews returned systemwide service in about 17 days.

Pacific Power’s regional business manager, Scott Salazar, urged caution and said any change would be complicated. “The equipment that serves most of Cottage Grove belongs to Pacific Power,” Salazar said, adding the infrastructure would have to be purchased if a different provider were to serve the core of the town. Pacific Power also stressed the utility’s ability to draw regional mutual‑aid resources and said, for Cottage Grove specifically, the majority of the town saw power restored in about five days after the 2024 storm.

Councilors asked for apples‑to‑apples data comparing outage restoration, equipment ownership, the cost to acquire and upgrade infrastructure, and the short‑ and long‑term rate impacts on city customers. EPUD said the feasibility study would model acquisition costs, staffing needs, capital improvements and projected rate effects, and that the district was prepared to pay a substantial portion of the study cost.

Councilor Irvin moved and colleagues seconded a motion directing staff to assist council in producing a statement of interest and to work with EPUD on what a feasibility study would include; the motion passed unanimously. The city manager and staff will return to council with options for scope and cost before the council authorizes a formal study or other steps.