The Hermiston City Council on Monday approved a territory allocation agreement between Hermiston Energy Services (HES) and Umatilla Electric Cooperative (UEC).
The agreement supercedes an 2022 a Customer Allocation Agreement (CAA) between the two utilities which allowed UEC to service Amazon Data Services.
HES General Manager Nate Rivera said that Amazon, in late 2022, requested service from HES in excess of 50 average megawatts on an adjacent piece of property, which is entirely within HES’ service territory. Amazon intends to build and operate one or more facilities on the property.
Rivera said that due to the size of the request and timeline, HES would not be able to serve the load without making a significant investment as well as putting its current system at risk. HES contacted UEC about providing service to Amazon. Rivera said the proposed agreement had the support of both Amazon and UEC. HES agreed to a UEC request that the entire property be permanently transferred into UEC’s service territory.
The council unanimously agreed to the agreement, which will become effective upon approval from the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
