No. In Oregon, electric cooperatives are not regulated by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC). The PUC primarily regulates investor-owned utilities such as Portland General Electric and PacificCorp. Midstate Electric is governed by a nine-member board of directors elected by the cooperative membership.
Data Center FAQ
The City of La Pine is a member of Midstate Electric and receives franchise fee revenues collected through member billings. However, the cooperative operates independently, and the city does not participate in its governance or business operations.
Members are encouraged to reach out to us directly with questions. We have set up a webform for members to submit their questions about the data center project.
Neither. Our job is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective power to our members without exception. Our neutral position is rooted in the fact that we are obligated to provide power to any and all service locations in our territory. That could be a new single-family home, a new commercial building, a new apartment complex, or even a data center. As long as they are approved and permitted at the City or County level, each one is treated equally, fairly, and objectively in our eyes.
No. As detailed in the Additional Service Obligation Information section at the bottom of this FAQ, we do not have the authority to deny service with the exception of circumstances such as capacity and safety issues, unpaid bills, inadequate infrastructure, or failure to comply. Ultimately, this is not our decision to make. The La Pine City Council has the final say on whether this project moves forward.
Prineville is home to numerous data centers, including Apple, Google, and Meta (Facebook). Central Oregon is an attractive destination because of its climate, which helps with cooling efficiency, availability of land, and our power infrastructure. This would be the first data center in La Pine, but it will operate on a much smaller scale than the Prineville data centers. For comparison, the existing Meta data center in Prineville, which is one of the largest data centers in the U.S., currently uses more than 1.37 million MWh of electricity per year.
Yes. Midstate has immediate plans to add capacity.
The proposed data center would use 20 MWh of electricity. This represents a fraction of Midstate Electric’s total capacity and would be more than adequately serviced with no risk of disruption (i.e. blackouts/brownouts) to Midstate members.
No. The data center would have to pay its own way at every step. This includes but is not limited to all feasibility studies, infrastructure improvements, equipment upgrades, and electricity usage. Further, they would likely pay a higher rate for their electricity than other members.
No. There are zero costs related to this project or the ongoing servicing of the site that would be passed through to Midstate members. The project developers would receive no incentives or subsidies from Midstate Electric Cooperative in exchange for siting their project within our service area.