Intercounty Electric Cooperative Associations’ Auxiliary shared current challenges and achievements at the 15th annual grassroots meeting April 18 in its auditorium.
The cooperative is 100 percent locally controlled and democratically governed and was created to bring people and communities together to meet common needs. Members were selected from different districts of the cooperative for the event and are encouraged to be advocates in their communities, sharing the information they receive. When the need arises for political dialogue with legislators, they are asked to engage on behalf of the cooperative’s needs and efforts dealing with quality of life issues – reliable and affordable electric energy for our homes and businesses.
The Houston choir opened the meeting with a rendition of the National Anthem. Auxiliary President Barb Sheppard welcomed everyone. The evening progressed with introductions of the 2013 Youth Tour winners by Member Services Manager Karen McNew. Member Services Representative Heather Satterfield explained the Operation Round Up Program and introduced the volunteer delegates who oversee the program and distribute the funds to applicants in need.
General Manager Aaron J. Bradshaw spoke briefly, thanking everyone for the warm welcome he has received.
“The cooperative’s goal is no longer to turn on the lights on in rural communities,” Bradshaw told the crowd. “Instead, we now focus on reliability and service to our members. While the focus may have shifted, we still have the same core values and local people there to help. I am very proud to be a part of that.”
The evening’s event, “Tiers of Trust,” conveyed how fortunate Intercounty members are to be a part of a great three-tiered system in Missouri that works together to provide reliable, affordable energy.
Guest speaker, Joe Wilkinson, director of member services and corporate communications for Associated Electric Cooperative, explained its relationship as the generation cooperative and the role they play within this tier of trust. Wilkinson stated, “Our mission statement of providing reliable and affordable power for the membership is what drives Associated and is more than words on a piece of paper.”
Missouri ranks seventh in the nation with lowest rates. He added that the nine generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives —the middle piece of the tier, plan for and provide a strong transmission system that prevents many of the reliability issues other states deal with. Along with the interconnections provided by the distribution cooperatives this is a real advantage to the success of the system.
He continued by explaining the generation mix and the challenges they face with EPA and environmental issues. They have spent $1.2 billion on environment and emission measures. However, Associated Electric Cooperative is positioned very well on current emissions and regulations and in some instances they are ahead of the requirements. With Associated’s “Take Control and Save Program,” the use of energy efficiency measures by the membership help with the efforts to decrease demand. He quipped, “There’s not many businesses that help you use less of their product.” With that he announced that no new generation sources would need to be added until 2029.
Wilkinson concluded with why all this matters: At the end of the day the co-op cares because it is made up of local owners, with local control from the local distribution co-op all the way through the G&Ts to the generation cooperative.