History of Bandon Electric
November 16, 1907, Bandon began using electricity for lights. The steam power plant operated with a capacity of 2,000 lights. The company went into receivership in March of 1910. Engineer A. S. Elliott took over as manager and immediately began installing meters and extending services to new customers. In September of 1916 A. L. Martin, manager of the Oregon Power Company in Marshfield, began negotiations with Bandon Power to purchase electricity from his company. He planned to run a line from Coquille through Riverton to Bandon.
The owners moved the Bandon plant to the Prosper sawmill where it operated until 1918. The Prosper mill closed when orders for spruce lumber dropped after the war. The plant then moved the machinery to near the Acme Planing mill where it was able to acquire fuel from the nearby Moore Mill. The City of Bandon acquired the power plant in June of 1921 at a cost of $35,000 and became owner of its second utility. For a short time the city held a contract with Nestle's Food Company to connect with their generators in event of an emergency.
August 1, 1922, the city began operating the hydroelectric plant on Willow Creek south of Langlois. The crews constructed a dam east of the Roosevelt Highway (later Highway 101) and extended the power line to town. Some of the costs in building the plant were: storage dam $25,283.17, pipeline $26,874.73, powerhouse including machinery and equipment $7,479.74, and transmission line $23,538.38. In 1921 the city sold $110,000 in bonds to finance the Willow Creek project. Before it was completed the city ran out of funds and had to vote bonds for an additional $40,000. Costs would have been higher to delay so the citizens complied with a positive vote. The first year's operation reflected a net earning of $500 per month. The Willow Creek dam was 60 feet high, 160 feet long, and 60 feet thick at the bottom. The pipeline from the reservoir to the power plant sloped for 110 feet of fall. The engineers decreased the size of the pipe to provide maximum weight for turning the turbines. An almost immediate result of the hydroelectric plant came when J. H. Dalen, T. P. Hanly, and J. F. Kronenberg incorporated the Bandon Cedar Manufacturing Company and moved machinery in early 1922 from the former White Cedar Lumber Company plant at Coquille. In 1924 Mountain States Power Company built a 22,000 volt line from Beaver Hill Junction to Bandon.
The bonded debt continued to plague the city. Five years later in 1927 a study showed that the city should sell the electric system to a private company. The city brought J. W. McArthur of Eugene municipal hydroelectric company to give an unbiased appraisal of the situation. McArthur suggested $150,000 should be the minimum price instead of the recommended price of $120,000. He further stated that the city should not sell and gave reasons for his statement. The city received two bids, one for $100,000 and another from Mountain States Power Company for $120,000. The city did not sell.
