Now that parent company Powdr Corp. is holding onto Mt. Bachelor, the ski area is planning upgrades that will boost its electrical power supply so that it won’t ever have to lighten lift loads again because of not having enough electricity.

John Merriman, Mt. Bachelor president and general manager, said the power upgrade will involve running 12 miles of new power lines between its facility and Sunriver to double the amount of electricity available from 5 megawatts of power to 10 megawatts.

Merriman declined to say how much it will cost, but anticipated the upgrade will be done by the end of next summer. The existing power system is several decades old, he said, and there will be an auxiliary power source added to the new line for backup. These upgrades will enhance the reliability and efficiency of the ski area’s chairlifts, especially on busy ski days, he said.

In the meantime, the ski area also will be completing its work on a biomass facility that will take forest debris and turn it into hot water and heat, reducing the ski area’s dependence on propane, he said.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with the CEO of Powdr Corp. and they are excited to invest in the resort,” Merriman said. “I’m looking forward to that. Our current power infrastructure just doesn’t meet the needs of what we need now or for the future. These upgrades set us up for future growth.” 

Powdr Corp. had listed the ski area for sale for about eight months, but took it off the market in early April. Now that the company has decided to hold on to the resort, it can turn its attention to improvements and maintenance, focusing on its core Bend customers, Merriman said. 

Some in the community, particularly on social media, feel the ski area has fallen behind on its maintenance, including upgrading its power source, said Chris Porter, a co-founder of the failed effort to purchase Mt. Bachelor using a community ownership model. 

“This is not an upgrade,” Porter said. “This is a long over-due maintenance expense to keep the lifts operating consistently. These infrastructure expenses have an economic impact for entire Central Oregon. If the lifts are not running well, and you’re a visitor, and it’s a bluebird powder day, it increases the likelihood that the visitor might not come back again. 

“The mountain is part of our visitor experience in winter and summer.“

The Deschutes National Forest confirmed the discussion of either hanging more power lines on a right of away through the forest or placing them underground. Merriman wasn’t sure which route the company would use. Midstate Electric, a Sunriver cooperative, is the utility that provides power to the ski area, but was not available for comment. 

Approval hasn’t been granted yet by the forest service. The additional power will enable the ski area to run the lifts at full capacity filled with butts in seats, Merriman said. 

“We’ll be looking at replacing other lifts and starting on other projects up here,” Merriman said. “We will be investing in the resort. Long term, the upgrade in power will allow us to modernize the resort. 

Meanwhile, plans to build a biomass facility at Mt. Bachelor are moving forward, Merriman said.  The facility will burn forest material that now gets amassed for controlled burns to be turned into energy to heat the resort in the winter, Merriman said. The facility should be operational by September 2026, he said.  

The building will be complete by the end of this summer and have the power distributed by the next of next summer. The facility will enable the ski area to cut its dependence on propane by two-thirds, he said. 

Both projects are a good start, said Dan Cochrane, the other co-founder of the community effort to buy Mt. Bachelor. Cochrane said that the community has told the corporate owners that the power was a concern, particularly since there’s no backup power. 

Cochrane said the ski area is doing a great job of supporting the community with the new program allowing children under 12 to ski for free with the purchase of an adult season pass. That program is a “cornerstone of our effort to make the mountain accessible to everyone.

“It’s a good move and one that’s in the right direction.”