[Port Orford]- Under the City's proposal, the City of Brookings will impose a new franchise fee based on CCEC’s electric revenues collected from residences and businesses within city limits. All CCEC accounts located within Brookings’s city limits will see the new franchise fee listed as a separate line item on their electric bill labeled City Franchise Fee. The City of Brookings proposes phasing in the new franchise fee reaching 7% in 2027. On average a CCEC residential member within Brookings will see an $8.84 increase on their monthly electric bill when the franchise fee reaches 7%.

In 2002, Coos Curry Electric Cooperative and the City of Brookings entered into a 20-year franchise agreement, implemented by the City Council as ordinance 02-O-555. CCEC receives continuing access to City right of way (ROW) for the placement of electric infrastructure.  In exchange, CCEC provides electricity and maintenance to a specified number of streetlights at no cost to the City.  Under the current agreement, CCEC’s maintenance of the City of Brookings streetlights is valued at about $92,000 annually.     

The current ordinance expires in December 2022, and in recent discussions, the City of Brookings proposed changing the agreement from the existing in-kind structure to a more traditional fee-based arrangement. 

Franchise agreements outline the terms under which utility companies gain and retain access to city ROW. City governments impose franchise fees in exchange for utility company access to city ROW.  These fees work much like a gross receipts tax and are typically calculated as a percentage of the revenues derived from utility sales to consumers within city limits.

All affected CCEC members, both residential and commercial, can estimate the impact on their electric bill by multiplying their current monthly bill by the franchise rate in the table below.

City of Brookings Proposed Franchise Fee Schedule:

Note: The 7% franchise fee will remain in effect until the expiration of the new agreement.

CCEC benchmarked with electric cooperatives throughout Oregon and found that cities charge electric cooperatives franchise fees of 4.5% on average.  The City of Brookings is proposing to ramp CCEC’s franchise fee to 7% over five years, significantly exceeding the average Oregon electric cooperative franchise fee of 4.5%. 

CCEC estimates, based on current electric rates that a 7% franchise fee will generate approximately $653,725 in new annual revenue for the City of Brookings.

The Brookings City Council will discuss this proposed franchise agreement at a workshop on November 7, 2022. The City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance to implement the new CCEC franchise agreement on December 12, 2022.  CCEC will keep our Brookings members informed as more information becomes available.  Your questions and concerns about the City’s proposed franchise fee are best addressed with the City of Brookings.  CCEC can help you understand how the City of Brookings franchise fee will impact your electric bill.