Umatilla Electric Cooperative

What Umatilla Electric Cooperative does

Umatilla Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, privately held electric distribution cooperative headquartered in Hermiston, Oregon, founded in 1937 and currently employing 101–250 people across its Oregon service territory. Per the firm's own short description, its core offering consists of electric installation services, area lighting pole attachments, billing, a loan fund, and safety and outage services — the standard service mix of a rural electric distribution cooperative serving residential, commercial, and agricultural members in the Umatilla County region of northeastern Oregon.

The cooperative operates as a regulated electric distribution utility rather than a generator or retail energy supplier at scale; its core technology is the physical distribution grid and associated metering/billing infrastructure that connects members within its assigned franchise territory. The website and product catalog surface no proprietary software platform, no API surface, no apps, and no disclosed integrations — the technical stack described in the source is the utility-grade physical infrastructure (poles, lines, transformers, lighting attachments) rather than a software product. No certifications, patents, or trademarks are referenced.

From a business-model perspective, Umatilla Electric Cooperative earns revenue predominantly through member electricity tariffs (kWh sales), supplemented by area lighting pole-attach fees and ancillary member services such as the loan fund. Because the firm is a member-owned cooperative rather than an investor-owned utility, capital is sourced through member equity, RUS/cooperative lending programs, and retained margins, and growth is governed by service-territory demand rather than shareholder returns. The available source material does not disclose specific rates, member counts, kWh volume, or financial line items, so any sub-segment economics are inferred from standard rural-cooperative utility benchmarks.

Name

Umatilla Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Umatilla Electric Cooperative

Website

https://umatillaelectric.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Umatilla Electric Cooperative is a member-owned rural electric distribution cooperative founded in 1937 in Hermiston, Oregon, serving residential, commercial, and agricultural members across its Oregon service territory with electric installation, area lighting pole attachments, billing, loan fund, and safety and outage services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Electric Power Distribution (221122), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medium-Voltage (MV) Distribution Substations & Switchgear (EUADACAB), Power Transformers, Reactors & Auxiliary Power Systems (EUADACAJ)

Keywords

• Electric distribution services
• Area lighting attachments
• Utility billing services
• Outage and safety services
• Cooperative loan fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Hermiston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others

Core offering

Umatilla Electric Cooperative distributes electric power to members in its Oregon service territory and supports that distribution with area lighting pole attachments, member billing services, a member loan fund, and safety and outage response services. As a cooperative, it is owned and governed by the electricity consumers it serves.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electric Distribution Service Distribution of electric power to members within the cooperative's Oregon service territory.
• Area Lighting Pole Attachments Installation and attachment of area lighting on cooperative poles for street, parking lot, and outdoor illumination needs of local entities.
• Billing Services Member billing and account services for electricity consumption provided to cooperative members.
• Member Loan Fund Cooperative-administered loan fund providing financing to members.
• Safety and Outage Services Response services for electrical safety incidents and outages affecting members within the cooperative's territory.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Idaho Power Company: An investor-owned electric utility serving southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Comparable as a distribution operator with overlapping service territory in the Umatilla region; operates under a fundamentally different ownership and scale profile.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA): The national trade association representing U.S. electric cooperatives. Relevant as the institutional ecosystem (financing, advocacy, shared services) within which UEC operates and benchmarks itself.
• CoBank: A major lender to U.S. electric cooperatives and rural infrastructure. Relevant as a likely capital partner, lender, and benchmark for valuation, credit metrics, and capex financing for UEC.

Regional players

• Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative: A neighboring rural electric distribution cooperative serving Eastern Oregon. Directly comparable as a member-owned distribution co-op with similar scale, service offerings (billing, outages, area lighting), and regulatory environment.
• Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative: A member-owned electric distribution cooperative operating in adjacent parts of the Pacific Northwest. Comparable in business model, customer base (rural/agricultural), and mix of core distribution plus member services.
• Clearwater Power Company: A small member-owned electric cooperative in north-central Idaho. Comparable in scale, rural distribution profile, and member services portfolio including installation and outage response.
• Okanogan County Electric Cooperative: A rural electric distribution cooperative in north-central Washington. Closely comparable in cooperative ownership structure, rural service territory, and reliance on agriculture/light industrial load.

Direct peers

• Pedernales Electric Cooperative: One of the largest electric distribution cooperatives in the U.S., serving central Texas. Directly comparable as a member-owned distribution co-op with installation, billing, outage, and member service offerings — though materially larger in scale.

Broad incumbents

• PacifiCorp (Pacific Power): A large investor-owned utility serving Oregon and the broader Pacific Northwest. Comparable as an Oregon-based electric distribution operator with overlapping territory; differs in ownership model (IOU vs. cooperative) and scale.
• Portland General Electric: Oregon's largest investor-owned electric utility. Comparable in regulatory jurisdiction and core distribution activity, but operates at much greater scale, serves urban load centers, and is publicly traded.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uecooperative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Umatilla Electric Cooperative