Klamath Falls, Ore. – Electrical costs for Klamath Basin irrigators have skyrocketed over the past decade…but an effort is underway by Pacific Power to help reduce those costs.
An agreement that gave low electric rates to Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers ended 9 years ago.
Grower Dan Chin has been watching his power bill rise ever since…
“In 2006, we averaged about 30 dollars an acre. Today, it’s probably 150 to 200 dollars an acre.”
About 250 Klamath Project irrigators attended a Pacific Power workshop Thursday, looking for ways to reduce those costs.
“And one is an expansion of a ‘time of use’ program.” Explains Bob Gravely of Pacific Power. “This basically allows people to save money, if they shift some of their power usage out of the peak hours of the day.”
Those peak hours are from 2 to 6 through the months of June, July, and August.
Gravely claims those in the pilot program could save a lot of money…
“For some customers, they can save up to a third on their irrigation power costs.”
If those power costs continue to rise, Dan Chin notes that farmers won’t be the only ones paying the price…
“We raise potatoes and onions. And of course the price of those commodities, for us to recoup those costs, go up in the supermarket.”
Irrigators are also exploring more options to conserve water, and reduce costs – factors that will play a key role in getting through what is likely to be an extremely dry summer ahead.
Farmers and ranchers who weren’t able to make it to Thursday’s meeting can find out more about the ‘time of use’ pilot program by contacting Pacific Power, or their local irrigation district.
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