October 7, 2021 3:40 a.m. 

Douglas Electric Cooperative has begun construction of its new headquarters building.

DEC Assistant General Manager Phil Bigler said a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday. The new building is in the same location as the former building, at 1981 Northeast Stephens Street in Roseburg. The prior building was recently demolished.

Bigler said in 2018, DEC began looking into either replacing, remodeling, or relocating the headquarters to a different location in its service territory. After numerous site visits, engineering studies, economic considerations, estimates and countless meetings, the board of directors decided to raze the existing structure and rebuild at the current location. Bigler said the three primary reasons for replacing the structure were safety, operational effectiveness and energy efficiency.

*A seismic study found that the building would not be able to withstand even a minor seismic event and it was not cost effective to attempt to mitigate the structural issues.

*The building was constructed in 1949 when there were only 10 employees. Today there are 35. During the snowstorm of 2019, there were 185 employees and contractors working out of the old building and it was a challenge logistically to coordinate the additional workers and their needs.

*While constantly promoting energy efficiency, DEC was operating out of one of the most energy inefficient buildings in the county.

Bigler said that during construction, the administrative staff and the lobby have moved to 1600 Northeast Diamond Lake Boulevard #102 in Roseburg. He said the operations staff are still working out of the Stephens Street location in temporary office space.

DEC phone numbers and email addresses have not changed. Office hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday’s through Thursdays.