HERMISTON — Both incumbents up for reelection for Umatilla Electric Cooperative’s board of directors kept their seats.

Bryan Wolfe will continue to represent District 3 and Phil Hamm will continue to represent District 4. Hamm had no challengers, while Lee Carlson, Patricia Maier and Danice McBee were unsuccessful in running against Wolfe. Members also approved a proposed update to UEC’s bylaws, which had not been updated to reflect current state and federal laws since 2008.

Results of the election, which was conducted by mail by the cooperative’s 10,700 members, were announced during UEC’s annual members meeting on Saturday, April 17.

According to a news release, 280 members and guests watched the livestreamed virtual event. The annual report released at the event states that UEC’s kilowatt-hour power sales were up by 24% in 2020, as the utility delivered 3.8 billion kilowatt hours.

While UEC’s growth in recent years has been mostly driven by industrial customers, the 2020 report shows growth between 2019 and 2020 was relatively equal across industrial, commercial, residential and irrigation customers, with the largest increase in revenue coming through irrigation.

During the pandemic, according to the report, UEC returned a combined $7.6 million in Capital Credits refunds to members in 2020, in addition to providing utility bill relief to members affected financially by the pandemic, and providing $800,000 in rebates and low-interest loans for energy-saving upgrades for customers. UEC also created the Business Resource Center in April 2020 to provide free assistance to area businesses working to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program and other grants.

The report referenced several severe weather challenges for UEC as well, including the February 2020 flood and two major windstorms.

“During the year, our crews and operations staff faced historic weather events, making for long hours and dangerous working conditions,” a joint statement by Wolfe and CEO Robert Echenrode said in the annual report. “Through all, our employees have worked safely and efficiently and gone above and beyond to help our communities.

“None of us could have imagined how the coronavirus would have changed the world and our way of life. The year proved how deep the community spirit runs in Eastern Oregon.”