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Co-ops alarmed by Obama proposal

NASHVILLE – In a speech today at Georgetown University, President Obama announced a broad federal mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric power plants. The President will instruct federal regulators to apply the Clean Air Act to carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, effectively outlawing coal-burning facilities.

“More than 40 percent of electricity used in Tennessee comes from coal, so the President’s plan will be a disaster for Tennessee families and businesses,” says Mike Knotts, director of government affairs with the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “Reliable, low cost electricity is the backbone of the U.S. economy.”

While the President’s plan will impose costly regulations on all consumers, Tennessee’s electric cooperatives are especially concerned about this proposal because rural and low-income Americans already spend disproportionately more on energy than others.

“The President’s proposal will make electricity more expensive, causing families and businesses to sacrifice even more,” says Knotts. “Without question, electric bills will get bigger for the Americans who can least afford to pay them.”

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives will actively monitor this proposal, review its impact on ratepayers and keep members informed and engaged on the issue.

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association represents Tennessee’s 23 not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperatives and the 1.1 million consumers they serve across rural and suburban Tennessee. Click here to learn more and get involved.

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Warm weather brings out more than flowers

Late spring/early summer is absolutely one of the most beautiful times to live in Tennessee. The mild temperatures and brilliant blue skies just call out for a little extra time listening to the birds from the backyard hammock. In my case, it’s listening to the kids play, but undoubtedly this is a time of year to get outside and enjoy nature’s beauty. As one of my favorite musicians sings, “Life’s way too short to waste it all inside.”

The great weather this time of year does more than just inspire us to spend more time outdoors, though. As winter fades away, it is inevitable that you’ll see neighbors starting yard projects, road builders paving new highways and your local electric cooperative’s lineworkers busy with projects to keep the power flowing.

As the temperature outside rises, so does the amount of time your air conditioner will run to keep the inside of your home cool. That means higher electric bills, sure, but most would agree it is a small price to pay for the comforts of modern society — right? Well, there are some people who hope to use the increased activity outside and your higher electric bill to their advantage so they can separate you from your money.

This is the time of year that I start to hear about scams and attempts to steal from you, using your electric service as a cover story. Please be aware of these real-life schemes so you will not fall victim:

Phone calls asking for payments

You receive a phone call from someone who claims to work at the cooperative offering a friendly reminder that your electric bill is past due. The caller ID may even display the name of the co-op. The caller tells you that you can avoid late fees or having your service disconnected if you make a payment over the phone by giving them a credit card, prepaid debit card or checking account number.

This is a common type of scam called “phishing,” and it works just the same via email. There are lots of variations, but a phishing scam uses common, publicly available information to trick you into believing you are talking to a legitimate individual or institution. Scammers then try to convince you to give up important information like Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card information.

Never provide your private financial information to someone who calls you directly. Many cooperatives offer pay-by-phone options and may even call to tell you that your bill is past-due. But your co-op will never call you to initiate a payment. Make the phone call yourself. And be sure you are calling the phone number provided to you by the co-op. If you ask that same “friendly voice” who dialed you in the first place for a number to call back, the scammer will gladly provide you with his or her own number.

A knock at the door

Two men knock on your front door after parking a large white truck in front of your house. They tell you that they are employees of (or contractors working for) your local cooperative and need to perform some work on the poles along the road. They unload some tools and walk around your property. After a quick trip to the store, you discover the men are gone and your lawnmower and television are missing.

This is an unfortunate but true story that happened to a cooperative member here in Tennessee. Thankfully, the culprits were only interested in stealing property and not in any other more serious crimes. However, it is important to note that if your co-op needs to access your property to perform work, authorized individuals will be driving marked vehicles and carrying identification.

If you have any doubts at all about the legitimacy of the individuals, call the co-op directly to confirm their identity and ask if any work is scheduled at your address.

The “magic” black box

The advertisement you recently saw in a magazine or on the Internet claims that an “amazing new device” will lower your power bill by 30 percent just by plugging it into an outlet. The ad says the device is so effective that “power companies will hate this.”

While I am just as hopeful and excited as you might be for new scientific discoveries, an old adage applies here: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” One of these products, advertised heavily on the Internet, is simply two wires buried in a plastic container of sand.

You will see a lot of these advertisements at the end of the summer and winter but rarely in the spring or fall. Why is that? If you buy this magic box in the first week of September, plug it in and wait for your next electric bill, chances are your bill will, in fact, be dramatically lower. Why? Because temperatures are cooler, your air conditioner is no longer running nonstop, and you used less electricity. But, by the time you figure out the scam, the “money-back guarantee” will have expired — and your wallet will be just a bit thinner.

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Electricity Comes to Us

Always looking to expand my mind, I recently purchased an educational text on electricity. It is written on a level that takes this technically complex product and puts it on a down-to-earth level. The authors, both university professors, do a great job of explaining this innovative product and the ways it impacts people’s everyday lives.

The book, “Electricity Comes to Us,” was published in 1937. Reading it today is a lot like opening a time capsule and trying to imagine what life was like in that era.

The book, “Electricity Comes to Us,” was published in 1937. Reading it today is a lot like opening a time capsule and trying to imagine what life was like in that era.

The book, “Electricity Comes to Us,” was published in 1937. Reading it today is a lot like opening a time capsule and trying to imagine what life was like in that era.

For the period in which it was written, the book does a great job explaining electricity, which at that time was far from universally available. The text walks through how electricity is generated, transmitted to homes and used by individuals. It even describes how to electrify a doll house. (We don’t recommend that!)

The section of the book that explains how electricity travels from the generating station (hydroelectric or coal) to homes is titled “The City Power Lines.” Not only was electricity carried into the city at 550 volts, it wasn’t carried into rural areas at any voltage.

Today, even the most remote part of Tennessee is likely to have nearby distribution lines that carry electricity at 7,200 volts or greater.
The advances in the distribution of electricity made me ponder the book as a time capsule. What went through the minds of the authors when they described how electricity was used? There is a drawing of an electric toaster in the book that was innovative and futuristic then but would be terribly unsafe in any home today.

Here’s how my friend Paul Wesslund frames that thought in a recent Kentucky Living magazine column:

“How didn’t you use electricity 40 years ago? You didn’t use it to charge a mobile phone or an iPhone. You might have used it when you switched on your record turntable to play music from a 12-inch, black, vinyl disk.

You most likely didn’t use it to power a computer. And even if you did have one of those garage-sized machines, there was no Internet to connect it to hundreds of millions of people, libraries and businesses all over the world.

Today, electric cars, solar and wind energy and efficiency practices are turning from novelties into more commonplace power practices. In 1973 these energy options were so expensive they seemed like science fiction.

The list goes on: TV remote controls, microwave ovens, flat-screen TVs, GPS, hospital MRIs.

“Which of those things could you have confidently predicted in 1973? What are your predictions for 2053?”

The authors of “Electricity Comes to Us” could not have possibly fathomed the many ways we generate and use electricity today. I don’t know that anyone could have done so. Given the advances that have transpired since 1937, I don’t know that our predictions for 2053 would be any better.

It’s difficult enough to maintain today’s electric grid. And the rapidity with which technology advances, it’s difficult and expensive to plan for the future. However, the goal today is the same as it was in 1937: to bring electricity to the homes of the user. No matter how you’ll use electricity in 2053, we’ll be here to bring it to you.

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Federally Owned – Ratepayer Built

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

When you’re immortalized in song, you can reasonably assume that you’ve made it. When a government agency is immortalized in song, well, that’s profound.

The group Alabama did just that for the Tennessee Valley Authority with their 1988 hit, “Song of the South.” One verse reads, “Well Momma got sick and Daddy got down. The county got the farm and they moved to town. Papa got a job with the TVA. He bought a washing machine, then a Chevrolet.”

Simplistic as it is, the song sums up the agency’s transformative power on the Valley. TVA, one of several Depression-era stimulus projects, revitalized our entire region, controlling flooding and bringing low-cost power and wealth through jobs and investment.

Over the decades, TVA also transformed itself. No longer a beneficiary of federal funding, TVA is fully financed through power sales. Valley residents know the value of TVA to the region. It has turned the corner from being a Democratic Depression-era program to become an integral part of our political, economic and utility infrastructure.

Over the decades, TVA programs have touched every aspect of life in the Tennessee Valley — from farm production to uranium enrichment. TVA powered the engine that enabled the U.S. to end World War II. The same agency has provided countless summers of fishing and boating for multiple generations of families.

In the 2014 budget of the U.S. government, President Barack Obama advocates the administration’s intent “to undertake a strategic review of options for addressing TVA’s financial situation, including the possible divestiture of TVA, in part or as a whole.”

We’ve been down this road before with advocates of privatization calling for the dismantling of TVA and selling it to the highest bidder. To be fair, past efforts have come from both sides of the aisle, from both the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. Even though we “liked Ike,” President Dwight Eisenhower once referred to TVA as an example of “creeping socialism” and told friends in private, “I’d like to sell the whole thing.” TVA privatization even figured into the 1976 Tennessee Republican presidential primary between Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

Selling TVA to the highest bidder seems like a quick fix for those outside the Valley or to those who are unable or unwilling to look at the facts. Transforming a publicly owned utility that sells electricity at cost into a for-profit entity isn’t a good solution for Tennessee ratepayers.

TVA has dealt with challenges before: recovering from an overexpansion of a nuclear program in the 1980s and weathering the deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry of the 1990s and the Kingston ash spill a few years ago. The agency has streamlined operations over the years: The number of employees has declined, and TVA is managed by a part-time board that is more diverse than ever. TVA may have issues to deal with, but we’ll deal with them together — they affect all of us.

Though the federal government owns TVA, the ratepayers in the Tennessee Valley provided the funds that constructed the generation assets and world-class transmission system. The ratepayers have paid back the original loans from the U.S. Treasury — with interest. If there is a divestiture of TVA, it should be a transfer to those ratepayers. It’s ours; we built it.

Simply put, TVA may be federally owned, but it is ratepayer-built.

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Federal Policy Updates

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

While the Tennessee Legislature is in session, I focus much of my time on the goings-on at the Capitol in Nashville. While it’s nice to spend more time at home this time of year, there are some important developments in Washington, D.C., that impact your cooperative.

Power Marketing Administrations

In the August 2012 edition of this magazine, I discussed the threat to the future of the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). The PMAs, owned by the federal government, are a byproduct of the public service that a dam built to control flooding provides to all citizens. The water that flows through the dam can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity. That electricity is then sold to utilities at a price that is only high enough to cover the extra costs of producing it. That cheap power helps keep overall electric bills low and is a real success story in developing multipurpose infrastructure that benefits all our citizens.

Last year then-Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu proposed a program that would radically change the focus of the PMAs from producing low-cost, reliable and renewable electricity. His proposal added a smorgasbord of requirements unrelated to the sale of that power — things that were only vaguely connected to water spilling through a dam. It was a bad idea, and most of Tennessee’s members of Congress voiced their concerns.

Today, Secretary Chu has resigned, and President Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Ernest Moniz to replace him. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy Committee, Dr. Moniz stated that the “first priority” of the PMAs is providing lowest-cost power. When Sen. Mike Lee of Utah pressed further and asked whether Dr. Moniz would advocate policies that could significantly raise PMA rates, Dr. Moniz said, “No … I don’t believe we would if it’s something that the PMAs and their customers don’t agree with.”

This is good news for us, and you can be sure we will make sure Dr. Moniz remembers his words.

Rural Utility Service

Another program that has been a true success story over the years is the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). In the 1930s, electric cooperatives were born as a part of the first true “public-private partnership” devised by the government. Recognizing that rural electrification was essential to the future of the country and that existing power companies were refusing to extend electric service to the vast majority of rural America, the federal government decided to encourage the development of locally controlled, member-owned electric cooperatives as a solution to the problem. This encouragement came in the way of low-interest loans that helped these new co-ops install the poles and wires that literally lit up the countryside. The cooperatives paid back the funds — with interest — which made additional money available to fund loans to other cooperatives.

Part of the Department of Agriculture, RUS continues this program today. Because this model has been so successful, the RUS loan program now generates excess money for the Treasury and is helpful in reducing our national budget deficit.

Unfortunately, President Obama does not want to leave well enough alone. In his recently released budget, the president proposes to limit the uses of this loan fund in such a way that would render it almost useless. His budget in 2012 proposed nearly the same language, but Congress had sense enough to ignore it.

With the rest of the federal government hemorrhaging cash, this is not the time to tinker with a program that has been overwhelmingly successful. Lowering the deficit and keeping electric bills low are mutually beneficial goals that we all can support. I’m optimistic that Congress will again ignore this bad idea.

Tennessee Valley Authority

As you may have read on page 4 of The Tennessee Magazine, the president also made a surprise suggestion in his budget document. He suggests a possible sale of the Tennessee Valley Authority. While David Callis sums up the issue nicely in his column, I would also add a slightly more technical point:

The budget proposed to launch a study of the possible divestiture of TVA “in part or as a whole.” The problem for the president? What he proposed is against the law. The Urgent Appropriations Act of 1986 included language that requires the express consent of Congress to undertake such an action.

Hopefully, this proposal will end up like the other ill-conceived plans to privatize TVA — in a trash can at the White House.

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Legislative Conference brings co-ops to Nashville

More than 180 directors and employees from Tennessee’s electric cooperatives were in Nashville April 1 and 2 for the 2013 Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association Legislative Conference. Attendees met with their legislators on Capitol Hill to help them better understand electric cooperatives and the issues that impact them.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn also addressed the group, discussing in detail how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is overstepping its boundaries and stifling job creation. “The EPA audits businesses looking for ways to fine them,” said Blackburn. “Their attitude is not helpful, and that is not what the Federal government is supposed to do.”

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives maintain an active presence in Nashville and Washington, D.C., to be certain that the interests of co-op members are protected. “Electric cooperatives are not-for-profit, member-owned and -regulated and accountable to their communities. These are important distinctions that legislators must understand,” says David Callis, general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “The decisions made by legislators can have enormous effects on our members’ electric bills, so our job is to inform and educate them on the impacts of proposed legislation.”

Most issues affecting co-ops this year revolve around local control. “We believe that our members are best served when local decisions are made by local board members elected to run the cooperative,” says Mike Knotts, director of government affairs with TECA. “We are concerned when legislation limits a board’s ability to act in the best interests of its members.”

“Educated and informed legislators are a key component of low-cost, reliable power in Tennessee,” says Knotts. “Co-op members make a powerful impression when they come to meet with their legislators.”

More than 90 legislative visits were made during the conference, and 63 house and senate members attended the co-ops’ legislative reception.

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Speak for Yourself

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

From an early age, we’re taught to speak for ourselves. It’s part of the process of growing up and developing our own identity. “Please, may I have some more?” eventually gets you more food. Pointing out that your malicious sibling broke the lamp may keep you out of trouble.

You gain confidence and a sense of self-worth.

Mark Twain put it this way: “Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. … You cannot shirk this and be a man.”

When we speak for the electric cooperatives of Tennessee, we do so out of a sense of duty and responsibility. We also do this because we are the electric cooperatives. Our directors and officers are members of the cooperatives. So, we are the members that we represent. We know what our communities need, and we know what is harmful to our communities. We work hard to get the facts right.

And we speak up for ourselves.

Co-ops are ingrained into the communities we serve. When people rely on you, it’s important that you do your work honestly and with unquestioned integrity. Your community’s reputation is on the line — as is ours. We take that charge seriously. It’s important to us that we get the facts correct when we speak.

You’ll always see our names on the byline of any story.

Doing so eliminates confusion. When the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association addresses an issue, either in the media, legislature or community meetings, you can take confidence knowing that we’re being honest and forthright — in the light of day, in the glare of the spotlight.
A number of “news” sources these days allow anonymous posting of comments. In fact, it’s become a vocation for a certain segment of our society. No identification, minimal fact-checking and, all too often, no honesty.

It’s also difficult at times to tell where some news stories originate. Some entities use willing third parties — obscure entities with important-sounding names and clever acronyms — to push their agenda. To use Spiro Agnew’s term, these “nattering nabobs of negativity” exist mainly to promote someone else’s scheme without attaching their names. The days of needing a news bureau and skilled pressmen are gone; all that’s needed now is a cool-sounding name, a website and flashy graphics.

All too often, those entities specialize in duplicitous, fact-deprived stories, usually aimed at maligning someone else’s good name. Not patently false, but rarely identifiable as the truth. And far, far away from being fair and honest.

The goal is twofold: It purposefully creates confusion about an issue and hides the identity of the entity that’s up to no good. Online, drive-by character assassination. The journalistic version of a schoolyard bully.

That’s not how we operate — we never have, and we never will. Whether it’s in the pages of The Tennessee Magazine; on tnelectric.org, Facebook or Twitter; or in the halls of the legislature, when we speak for you, it will be bold, direct and honest.

“It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside.” It’s a responsibility from which we’ve never shirked.

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Time is Precious

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

Not too long ago, somebody repeated an interesting saying to me. I doubt it was an original thought; rather, it has been repeated over and over again and probably attributed to 20 different people. So I won’t try to correctly attribute the original author, but the meaning is excellent just the same.

“Time is the only thing you spend that you can never get back.”

I have been reminded of this indisputable fact over and over recently. Writing this very column is one example, as the staff of The Tennessee Magazine was kind to patiently await my submission as it was submitted dangerously close to the print deadline. If you’ve never had a regular deadline for a work product, the clock does start to tick a little bit louder and a lot faster the closer you get to “zero hour.” My pastor friends say that is especially true for Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, I usually need to hear that clock ticking louder and faster before I get serious about finishing my work.

But we all face pressures of some kind to complete a task because, for the most part, life does operate on a schedule. Each and every day the mailman has to finish his rounds. Mom or dad have to prepare meals for the kids. The store must open and close its doors. Many of our pleasures and hobbies even come with a time limit. So it’s natural for us to push back and try to escape the pressures of time. Perhaps that is why I am a baseball fan, as it is the only major team sport that does not utilize a clock.

But, I don’t think efficiently managing our time and meeting deadlines are what the saying intends to communicate. It’s not a question of how we spend our time — it’s urging us to ponder why we spend our time. Why do we choose to spend the limited amount of time we have on this Earth doing the things we do? What is the purpose of that time, and is it truly worth it?

I recognize that for many of us, we may not have a choice in how we spend all our time. We have to work a certain number of hours to put food on the table and pay the rent, for instance. But that makes the hours left in the day that much more precious and valuable. Are you using those hours in a way that has meaning, or are you just playing “Angry Birds?”

I have four young sons, so I have been feeling especially convicted by this question lately. For example, our twins just had their very first baseball practice. As I watched them on the field listening to their coach and running around the bases, my mind started to wander. What items were left undone at the office this week? What will happen next month in the Congress? When should I get that ding in the truck fixed?

And then, as I was needlessly worrying about things that could wait, I almost missed it. The boys fielded a grounder and threw it to first base. And they both looked straight at me with a look of pride, excitement and happiness that I hope I’ll never forget. Thankfully, I was watching at that moment and gave them a big thumbs up. It was a brief few seconds, yes, and their accomplishment wasn’t something that will be written about in the history books. But what if I had still been thinking about work or reading email on my phone? That moment in time would never have repeated itself, and I probably would never have known that it even occurred.

There are a lot of choices we make in life that we can correct if we get it wrong. Not so with the way we spend our time. So my question is this: What moments have you missed? And was whatever you were doing worth it?

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Important Work

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

My good friend Kent Lopez is manager of the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, serving in a position similar to mine. Kent is a transplanted Tennessean, and he recently shared the following about his work:

“My alarm goes off an hour earlier this time of the year. The State Legislature is in session. So I spend some extra time every morning getting ready for the day because there are special people relying on me. There is the rancher in Nespelem, the motel owner in Winthrop, the wheat farmer in Ritzville, the school teacher in Colfax … Each one has joined his or her neighbors to own and run their own local electric utility. They do this because they believe it’s in the best interest of their community. They do it without making a profit so their community will profit. They do this because they believe that the decisions that affect their community should be made locally, by individuals like themselves and their neighbors. Like I said, they are very special people. That’s why my alarm goes off an hour earlier this time of the year. I’ve got very important work to do.”

I’ll readily confess that I don’t begin my day like Kent. But my efforts, and the work of our entire staff at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and The Tennessee Magazine, are no less focused on supporting our cooperative members across our state. Our government affairs staff has worked nonstop over the past several weeks as our own legislative session began. Other staff have been busy communicating with our members across the state, planning for a busy year of cooperative education and training.

Andrew Carnegie envisioned his Carnegie Corporation as a foundation dedicated to the goal of doing “real and permanent good in this world.”

That describes perfectly the work of Tennessee’s electric cooperatives. Too often, Wall Street gauges success from one quarter to the next, cutting expenses and making rash decisions that undermine long-term growth, all in an effort to drive up stock prices quickly.

We measure success on Main Street over a much longer period — at least a generation or two.

Our co-ops are run by our members — which is a difficult concept for some to accept. How does that work exactly? A governing board is elected to set policy for the co-op. That board is composed of local co-op members who volunteer to serve.

That’s the purest, most direct form of local control — local people making decisions that are in the best interest of the community. And they’re decisions that bring about “real good” for today and “permanent good” for tomorrow.

So, for the banker in Bumpus Mills, the accountant in Sparta, the farmer in Hillsboro, the insurance adjuster in Ramer, the dentist in Hohenwald, the vineyard owner in Jamestown and the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel in Jefferson City, we recognize the effort you put in serving your community. It’s not done for recognition or prestige; it’s done because you’re committed to making your community a better place.

People rely on you. The work you do on behalf of the co-op members in your community is important. It’s important to the members of your cooperative, and it’s important to us at TECA.

We keep that in mind every day, whether it’s publishing The Tennessee Magazine, educating tomorrow’s leaders through our youth programs, training workers on electrical safety or protecting your interests in the legislature.
It’s very important work.

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Power’s Price Tag

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

When you go to the store to buy something, you usually take a look at the price tag before you decide to purchase it, don’t you? Few of us can just buy what we want no matter the cost, so we have to consider price along with the other factors to help us decide whether to buy a product.

Usually that price is clearly displayed for us to see. At the gas pump, the price towers in foot-tall numbers out by the street to make sure we don’t miss it. At the grocery store, there are price labels all over the place — not to mention all the “buy-one, get-one-free” and “10-for-a-dollar” promotions that are intended to make us think about the value of a particular product at a particular price. And with most things we buy, we provide some sort of compensation before we actually receive the product.

So it is very interesting to me that there is a product most of us buy of which we likely don’t know the price, don’t know how much we are buying and don’t pay for it until 30 to 45 days after we use it. It’s a product you are probably using as you read this page. And it’s a product that, in today’s society, we can’t really live without.

Electricity is probably one of the least understood consumer products on the planet. For most of us, we just know to plug our appliances into the outlet in the wall and they will work. Then, once a month, we get a bill and have to pay whatever the total says we owe. Sometimes we are relieved that the bill is low, and other times we groan when the numbers are high.

There are lots of reasons why electricity is billed this way, but there is one distinction that differentiates the most common energy source in the world from other fuels you may buy. You see, electricity has to be produced (generated is the more technical term) at the exact instant you consume it. This one fact is the primary reason why the electric power industry is so complex and why our ability to provide reliable power is such an achievement.

When you flip the switch to turn on the lights, the electrons that power that fixture have literally travelled hundreds of miles across a huge network of wires and transformers. Those electrons move at the speed of light — that’s 671 million miles per hour. Any interruption like a tree limb touching a power line or a faulty piece of equipment can stop that long trip and cause a power outage.

“That’s not so different,” you might say. Lots of the products we consume today come from a long way away. Take the gasoline you pump into your car or truck, for instance. It has also travelled many miles and has required many hours of refining to arrive at your local gas station. But that gasoline made many stops along its trip to be stored in huge tanks, sometimes for days or weeks at a time.

Unlike any other fuel — propane, natural gas, etc. — there is no way to store large amounts of electricity for long periods. There is no “tank” where we can deposit electricity and hold it until it’s needed. So that means that power plants must continuously generate more power than is required, just in case the entire city decides to turn on their air conditioners at the same time.

This can create tremendous challenges for your cooperative and its power supplier, the Tennessee Valley Authority. While an electricity “tank” may not be a reality yet, there are lots of new technologies that allow us to better manage the flow of electricity and understand how to do a better job of delivering it to you at the lowest possible cost. These types of improvements, often referred to as the “smart grid,” are changing the way our industry performs its crucial task. I made the analogy to a friend recently that the electricity industry has known for many years how to win a NASCAR race driving a 1950s Studabaker, but it is now time to get a new ride.

And it is these types of technologies that very well may change the way we consume our electricity. Instead of not knowing how much we are using and what the price is, we will soon be able to make better-informed decisions about how we use electricity and what it will cost us. And that is an improvement that benefits us all.

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Freedom to Connect Act will hurt Tennesseans

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and the electric cooperatives of Tennessee oppose the cable lobby’s Freedom to Connect Act and support the Watson/Matlock bill (HB 1111/SB 1222), a true compromise and attempt to end ongoing legislative disputes.

 

The Freedom to Connect Act (HB 567/SB 1049) will hurt rural Tennesseans

The primary purpose of the Freedom to Connect Act is to lower the pole attachment cost to cable companies, increasing their net profit and value to shareholders. This bill will take millions of dollars each year from the pockets of rural Tennesseans and give it to out-of-state corporations.

The Freedom to Connect Act

  • deletes an existing law requiring cable companies to seek permission to use an electric utility’s property
  • takes the authority over a cooperative’s private property away from locally elected boards and gives it to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with limited understanding of the cooperative’s business, finances or membership
  • specifically instructs the ALJs to consider the $7 Federal Communications Commission rate established in 1978, but it does not require any other rate formulation to be considered

Passage of the Freedom to Connect Act would result in increased electric bills across Tennessee.

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives are not-for-profit, member-owned, private utilities. Pole attachment rates in Tennessee are set by local boards and are based on actual costs. Rates vary from co-op to co-op because they are set to recover the actual costs incurred, and the cost structure of each utility is different, with varying costs of capital, labor and materials.

The FCC rate was established to help cable companies grow, and it does not reflect actual costs. The rate applies only to for-profit utilities; not-for-profit cooperatives have always been exempt. The Tennessee Valley Authority regulates many aspects of electric co-ops at the federal level, including pole attachment rates.

The average cost of a pole attachment in Tennessee is $14 per pole annually.

Lower pole attachment rates found in other states are legally mandated and do not reflect the actual cost of the attachment. These rates are subsidized by electric ratepayers.

Cooperatives in Tennessee have more than 1 million telecom and cable attachments on their poles. Forcing electric utilities to use the subsidized FCC rate for all attachments would cost electric cooperative members $13 million annually.

Electric cooperatives support a true compromise, reflected in the Watson/Matlock bill (HB 1111/SB 1222)

The Watson/Matlock bill is based on good-faith efforts to compromise with cable in the past. The bill preserves a cooperative’s authority over its own property while giving attachers a clearly defined dispute resolution process and protection against legitimate abuse.

The compromise seeks to

  • develop better working relationships between pole owners and attachers and establish a set of best practices
  • provide a clear path for dispute resolution while respecting the important role of local control and local decision making
  • establish a first-ever avenue for judicial review of disputes
  • provide for the involvement of an Administrative Law Judge early in the process to make a determination of the maximum appropriate cost-based rate applicable to each utility. The local board’s final decision is then appealable to Chancery Court under the Administrative Procedures Act. A dispute resolution process has been previously unavailable.

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives support our rural communities, and we believe that broadband expansion is important to the economic prosperity of rural Tennessee.

Pole attachment rates do not stand in the way of broadband expansion. Legislation passed in 2008 requires Tennessee utilities to provide a significantly reduced attachment rate to providers expanding broadband into previously unserved areas. This rate has never been requested or utilized by a cable company in Tennessee. The rate is half of the 2008 rate, which averages less than $7 per pole, per year.

We are active in economic development, working with TVA, the Department of Economic and Community Development, regional economic development groups and local chambers of commerce to recruit jobs and investment to our communities.

Just as electricity did in the 1930s, we believe that broadband infrastructure will make rural America competitive and relevant in a global economy. Tennessee co-ops have provided mapping data and other resources to accelerate the expansion of broadband in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade association representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 rural and suburban, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.

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Leadership Matters

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

By now we’ve all come to the realization that the Mayans were wrong. Or, more accurately stated, we were wrong about the Mayans. Just because their calendar ended on Dec. 21, 2012, didn’t mean civilization was going to end on that date. The lesson we all should have learned is that calendars just mark an arbitrary point in time.

It’s true that we tie a number of starting points to Jan. 1, but we do that out of simplicity, not because of some cosmic reasoning. In 2013, a number of things are much different than in 2012. Sadly, more than a few are still the same — like congressional budget fights.

For co-ops in Tennessee, we’re looking at a couple of significant changes: two new leaders as we start the new year. Bill Johnson is the new CEO at the Tennessee Valley Authority. (I wrote about him in the December 2012 issue of The Tennessee Magazine. He’s already more than a month into the job.) For electric cooperatives, we have a new leader for our national association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), which represents more than 900 rural cooperatives — and their more than 42 million members — in 47 states.

Republican Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who represents Missouri’s 8th Congressional District, will be NRECA’s fifth CEO upon her retirement from the House in February. She officially joins NRECA on Feb. 11 and assumes her duties as CEO on March 1. An association executive before joining Congress, where she has been a strong supporter of rural America, she is respected on “both sides of the aisle” and has a proven ability to bridge political and policy divides.

“We conducted an exhaustive search to identify the very best individual to lead a great association,” said NRECA Board President Mike Guidry. “We’re convinced we found that person in Jo Ann Emerson. Her background as a member of Congress and a trade association executive,―coupled with her extensive knowledge of the issues facing electric cooperatives and rural America,―make Jo Ann eminently qualified to lead NRECA and represent the interests of our members.”

The success of these new leaders will be critical to our success — and to your need for efficient and economical electric service. We’re blessed in Tennessee to have a robust, reliable electric grid. We need a strong and responsive TVA as our power supplier and regulator. Your cooperative and TVA work hand-in-hand to build and maintain that network. None of that just happens; it requires planning and cooperation.

NRECA, under Emerson’s leadership, will be leading the charge as we combat legislative efforts that could add to the regulatory minefield we already traverse. Her skills in working for the good of rural communities will be as useful as her years in Congress. Our cooperative goal is to continue to support the communities where our members live, work and play, maintaining and improving your quality of life.

Emerson said as much in a statement announcing her new position: “Energy has a direct relationship with the vitality of rural America. Without reliable, affordable electricity delivered by electric cooperatives serving thousands of communities, millions of Americans would be left without the energy that brings economic opportunity, unsurpassed quality of life and the promise of growth in the future.”

Here’s hoping that 2013 is successful for us, for our new leadership and, most importantly, for you.

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Planting Good Ideas

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

Believe it or not, spring planting season will soon be upon us. I try each year to add an item or two to my home’s landscaping. I was not blessed with a particularly green thumb, though, so it usually ends miserably. But this year is different and much more important. Because of some drainage problems, I was forced to regrade my entire lawn last fall, which included removing every single living shrub, flower or plant around my house.

So I find myself asking for advice. What can I plant that is attractive, inexpensive, hearty and requires the absolute least amount of maintenance? When is the proper time to plant? I know that if you plant too early, you run the risk of a late frost wiping out all the new seedlings. If you wait too long, the plants won’t have time to take root and be prepared to weather the hot Tennessee summer. Experienced gardeners know that without enough time and care to build a strong grassroots system, these new plants will never survive.

Good ideas aren’t really that much different. If a new proposal is presented too early, it may get lost in the shuffle. If you lobby for an idea that no one knows about — even something that would help all Tennesseans — it will wilt and die. If an idea is presented too late, all the good intentions in the world can’t catch up to Father Time.

So how do great ideas thrive? They need good timing, awareness and the action of those that can make it happen.

Part of your local electric cooperative’s mission is to make sure you have affordable, reliable and safe electricity. And because our industry is so complex, government plays an important role in that mission. Sometimes state or federal laws threaten this, however, so we lobby hard on your behalf. But without your support — and, more importantly, your voice — our ideas may not reach the right ears.

That is why in the December 2012 issue of this magazine, I asked you to consider getting more involved in helping us keep your electric rates low. To the thousands of you who responded by going to www.ourenergy.coop and signing up, thank you very much. We will do our best to keep you informed with timely information. If you have not had the time to do so, signing up only takes a minute or two. And the time is right, as Tennessee’s General Assembly has just returned to take up its work and make important decisions for our state.

This year, the legislature has an important decision to make that could have an impact on your electric bill for years to come. And much like the situation in my yard, this year’s legislative session and its impact on your electric cooperative will be different and very important.

As you have read in these pages over the years, we have fought efforts that would increase your electric bill or make it more difficult to deliver reliable power to your home or office. For instance, most of the poles along the roadside in your community are owned by your electric cooperative. Those poles may have many other lines attached to them, which could carry telephone, cable or other utilities. The electric cooperative board of directors, elected by you, is responsible for deciding how much each attaching utility should pay for its fair share of the pole. However, some would like to see the state government intervene in hopes of lowering their fees.

While a discussion about pole attachments may not carry the same type of front-page appeal as issues like the income tax or “guns in bars,” the potential impact to Tennesseans is very real. Last year, the bill introduced would have caused $15 million in higher electric rates all across the state. So we have always asked the members of the legislature to say “no” to these requests, and, with very few exceptions, Tennessee’s elected officials have agreed.

This year, however, there is an opportunity to support a lasting solution to this perennial debate — a solution that protects attaching companies from any potential abuse and provides the ability to go to court if things really go wrong. And this solution protects the most important special-interest group — you, the owner of your cooperative.

In the coming weeks, we will be asking our elected officials to say “YES” to this honest, genuine compromise. The timing is right, and we are doing our best to make Tennesseans aware of the complex nature of these relationships and how they can be improved. What is the last ingredient to make this great idea thrive? Your action.

And as for my landscaping, let’s hope I stick to politics and get some good advice!

Visit tnelectric.org/issues to find out how you can help us. Or call 615-515-5522.

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Community

David Callis, executive vice president and general manager

When we talk about our community, we’re usually referring to a town or neighborhood. The nation’s electric cooperatives have a somewhat different perspective on community. Our community is local yet it extends hundreds of miles away.

A good illustration of that concept involves a Virginia co-op aptly named Community Electric Cooperative. Tennessee line crews have worked there following two recent storms, providing emergency assistance. Community EC also sent crews north to aid with power restoration efforts in areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Those linemen, who had already worked several days maintaining and restoring electric service at their own co-op, packed their bags, loaded their trucks and headed north into New Jersey and New York.

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives have adopted “Community” as our theme for 2013. For us, it’s more than just a slogan. Our roots in the community go back to the farmhouses and meeting places where we were formed. Today, those community beginnings remain woven into the fabric of everything we do, and our electric cooperatives live out that commitment to our members every day. The work we do is for the benefit of the members we serve — not for shareholders, investors or faraway owners.

From the time the first lines were strung in our communities until today, it’s been a never-ending commitment. In the early days, keeping the lights on was enough. Yet as times change, new needs arise. Our co-ops are always there to meet the challenges and strengthen the bond between community and cooperative.

Today, our member-owned electric cooperatives are vital social and economic components of the communities we serve, providing much more than just keeping the lights on.

As I’ve mentioned before, we can’t control every aspect of what goes into determining the price of electricity. Another large and important part of our “community” is the Tennessee Valley Authority. At one time, most of the electricity we use was generated by TVA’s hydro and coal plants. Over the years, the percentage of hydro power has diminished, nuclear power came on the scene and coal-fired generation has declined. It’s a daunting task for TVA to generate the power that our communities need at a cost we can afford.

As energy prices have risen, we’ve emphasized energy efficiency and conservation. That’s a delicate balancing act as new ways of using electricity are introduced to our communities; think about the number of televisions, appliances and phones plugged in at your home. Our educational efforts also include safety, renewable energy solutions, economic investment and youth programs. Often, electric co-ops are among the largest taxpayers in the towns or counties we serve.

Innovation adds challenges to operating our systems, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. As we’ve done over the course of our existence, we’ll adapt and meet the changes of our communities.

As for those linemen from Community EC, they were joined in storm-ravaged areas by hundreds more from other states, including Tennessee. They were tired, and they needed rest. But while their co-ops back home were in good shape, there were others that were in need.

Even though those that were in need were hundreds of miles away, they were never really out of the reach of the cooperative community. You never really are.

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Make it a great day

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

One of the really interesting things about working around and with the great people who bring you The Tennessee Magazine is that I get to hear about a lot of really awe-inspiring people, places and things here in our great state. I particularly enjoy the features Bill Carey, the Tennessee History Guy, regularly brings to these pages. Take the time to read these and you just might learn something exciting about that dusty building or marble monument that you never really noticed on your way to work each day.

However, it took a couple of guys from South Dakota to teach me about another way Tennessee touches the world. The Southwestern Corporation is based in Tennessee, and while it has a number of companies under its umbrella, its primary business is teaching college students how to sell books door-to-door. In doing so, these young salesmen can earn enough money to pay their college tuition. But what they really learn are the skills and, more importantly, the attitude to become successful in whatever field they choose.

This army of salesmen is drawn from every state and around the world. This diverse group comes to Nashville at the beginning and end of each summer to train and complete the administrative tasks necessary to earn their commissions. I have personally seen the throngs of young men and women, full of energy and vigor, as they begin and end their summertime journey. It’s inspiring to hear the stories of some of their successes and the lessons learned through some of their failures.

But the most important lesson they learn, in my opinion, is the concept of volition. I have no idea if it is described to them in so many words, but it is clear through the actions of the many, many Southwestern “alumni” who have achieved great things in different occupations and endeavors that this concept is a unifying factor among them.

Volition:
1. an act of making a choice or decision
2. the power of choosing or determining
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“Volition” was brought front-and-center to my attention during the recent annual meeting of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. During this time of work, we often pause and take a moment to hear a message from someone who might bring a different perspective to our discussions.

This year we were privileged to hear an inspiring keynote address from Maj. Dan Rooney, a retired F-16 fighter pilot and PGA golf professional (I joked with Maj. Rooney that he is living BOTH of my dreams!). So it’s only fitting that his pilot call sign and nickname is “Noonan” after the main character from the classic golf comedy “Caddyshack.” Having served three tours of duty in Iraq as well as having experience in building, owning and operating a golf course, he could have spent his time wowing us with his abilities to accomplish many very difficult tasks — and accomplish them well. His presentation contained loud videos demonstrating the awesome power and speed inherent in the F-16 fighter jet, and he could have bragged about the very small and select fraternity of highly trained American fighter pilots of which he is a member.

But his passion in life is the organization he created: the Folds of Honor Foundation, built to provide college scholarships for the survivors of those heroes who have been killed or disabled in service to our country. You see, in the middle of marking off the many tremendous personal accomplishments in his own life, Rooney realized that his time and efforts had a greater purpose. He realized his life could have an impact. He realized that it wasn’t all about him.

Today, Folds of Honor is a tremendous success. Its main event, Patriot Golf Day, is now a Labor Day weekend tradition in which golfers add $1 to their greens fees at participating courses. That simple act has raised more than $13 million and counting for scholarships for these most deserving Americans. Dan exercised his volition — he made a conscious decision to do something impactful for the sake of others, regardless of how hard it might be.

Just like Maj. Rooney, so many Southwestern alumni learned about the importance of making their own choice. “When I awake today, what will I choose to be?” Happy or sad? Optimistic or sullen? “When I awake today, what will I choose to do?” Work hard toward my goals and aspirations? Or resign myself to an unknown fate?

Attitude is a choice, and we all have been given the gift to decide how we will conduct ourselves. As we start a new year, I challenge you to make an impact. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic and large as Maj. Rooney, but you can make a difference in your community. All it takes is a decision on your part to do it.

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DREMC’s Allison to Head TRA

The Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) recently announced that the members of the TRA have elected Director James Allison to serve as chairman of the agency. In the capacity of chairman, he will have the responsibility of formulating the broad strategies, goals, objectives and long-range plans and policies of the TRA. Mr. Allison succeeds TRA Director Kenneth C. Hill who has served as chairman since October 2011.

On accepting the role as TRA chairman, Mr. Allison said, “I am honored to accept the role as chairman to continue the Tennessee Regulatory Authority’s commitment to protecting the public interest.” He resides in Shelbyville, Tennessee and was appointed to the TRA in 2012 by Governor Bill Haslam, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell.

The TRA members also elected Director Herbert H. Hilliard to serve as vice chairman of the agency.

The mission of the TRA is to promote the public interest by balancing the interests of utility consumers and providers. For more information on the TRA, visit online at www.tn.gov/tra.

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Election Recap

Mike Knotts, director of government affairs

Last Tuesday, Tennessee reelected all nine of its Congressmen to another term and history was made in the state legislature. On the national stage, EPA regulations will come to the forefront of national political discussion following the Presidential election.

In a tight race, the country reelected President Barack Obama (D) to a second term over the challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R). The Congress will remain split. Democrats maintain majority control in the Senate holding 53 seats to the 47 seats held by Republicans. The House will remain under the control of Republicans who hold 240 seats whiledemocrats claim 190.

Tennessee will see no change in its Congressional delegation. The much talked about fourth district race went to the incumbent, Scott DesJarlais (R), with 56% of the vote over former Democratic State Senator, Eric Stewart. Senator Bob Corker (R) defended his seat comfortably as he earned 65% of the vote.

As our Congressional delegation returns to Washington, they face a fast-approaching fiscal cliff, which (if ignored) will result in the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the much talked about automatic spending cuts. Beyond the fiscal cliff, our delegation will see a much more active EPA than it saw in President Obama’s first term.

Reuters (11/7) reports that analysts expect President Obama’s second term will bring tougher regulations for the energy industry. A separate Reuters (11/7, Gardner) article also suggests Obama’s stance on oil and gas regulation is likely to get tougher during his second term.

During Tuesday night’s victory speech, Obama spoke of the need to ensure children live in a country that, “isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet”. These anticipated changes in energy policy means the work of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association will be more important than ever.

At the state level, history was made Tuesday night. For the first time, Republicans will have a supermajority in the State House and State Senate. The only incumbent to lose in the general election was Jim Gotto (R—Hermitage) who lost his seat to Democrat Darren Jernigan. This district is not served by any TECA member electric power systems.

New members winning contested races include: Timothy Hill (R—Blountville), Micah Van Huss(R—Sulphur Springs), Gloria Johnson (D—Knoxville), Andrew Farmer (R—Sevierville), Kent Calfee (R—Oak Ridge), Dawn White (R—Murfreesboro), William Lamberth (R—Gallatin), Courtney Rogers (R—Goodlettsville), Bo Mitchell (D—Nashville), Jason Powell (D—Nashville), Darren Jernigan (D—Hermitage), Barry Doss (R—Lawrenceburg), Mary Littleton (R—Dickson), Debra Moody (R—Covington), and Billy Spivey (R—Lewisburg).

New Senate members include: Frank Nicely (R—District 8), Todd Gardenhire (R—District 10), Janice Bowling (R—District 16), Ferrell Haile (R—District 18), Steve Dickerson (R—District 20), Mark Green (R—District 22), John Stevens (R—District 24) and Joey Hensley (R—District 28).

TECA worked over the past year to become acquainted with the newest members of the General Assembly prior to election day. These relationships will be helpful in long-term policy work, as will the continued friendships TECA has with manylegislative leaders. TECA will continue to monitor and influence legislative matters effecting electric cooperatives.

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Independence forever!

Mike Knotts, Director of Government Affairs for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

“It will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward evermore.”
— John Adams, second letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776

In my opinion, no single act has shaped modern human history as much as the Continental Congress declaring the United States of America to be a free and independent nation. The ripples of this audacious decision have been felt across the globe ever since. However, as you might remember from history classes, the struggle to realize this declaration took another five years of bloodshed and two more years of negotiation. The Treaty of Paris, which granted formal independence to the American colonies, was signed in September 1783. This was nearly two years after Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered the British army at Yorktown, Va.

The courage that was required by the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence was astounding. They surely knew that by affixing their names they would be labeled as traitors to the British crown, the most powerful nation in the world, and likely be signing their own execution papers. Yet they did it anyway, John Hancock boldly making sure his signature was large and clearly seen.

Yet, despite the amount of time that lapsed from the day Hancock famously affixed his signature to the date of actual independence, we continue to celebrate July 4 as the birth of our country. And rightfully so. I hope you will take some time and heed the suggestions of John Adams. Attend a parade, host a picnic for friends and family, play a game with your kids and cheer loudly as the fireworks explode overhead.

The courage of our founders greatly inspires me. Almost every time I travel to Washington, D.C., I take time out of my schedule to visit the National Archives and view the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. I take some time to look at the old and weathered document and think about what those men must have been feeling as they signed away their lives. Was it pure joy, apprehension — or both? I also typically take a moment to pray and thank God for their bravery. We live in the most prosperous nation in the history of the world and are showered with unprecedented blessings because of our founders’ actions.

Your local electric cooperative is keenly aware of these blessings and takes a lot of pride in providing you with the energy required to enjoy so many of them. While I might celebrate July 4 with a day on the lake or perhaps by enjoying a quiet morning at home, many of the men and women of your co-op will be hard at work ensuring the flow of power remains uninterrupted and your events go off without a hitch. These dedicated employees are devoted to protecting your way of life, providing the necessities we take for granted and the luxuries we freely enjoy. They are willing to sacrifice their own time and fortunes to ensure the blessings of others. Maybe that work is not as glamorous as signing the Declaration of Independence, but I think it’s pretty darned inspiring, too.

Another way your cooperative shares the blessings of our liberty is by providing a way for young people in your community to experience American history first-hand. You will read in the pages of this magazine next month about the annual Washington Youth Tour, sponsored by your local cooperative and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, but I hope you are fortunate enough to hear the story directly from the young people your cooperative sponsored this year. As you read this article, they will have just returned from Washington, D.C., and their experiences will be fresh. I assure you these young men and women will be full of enthusiasm — phrases like “trip of a lifetime” and “awe-inspiring” will likely fill their explanations to you.

And once ignited, the enthusiasm these young people feel for the “Great American Experiment” is hard to extinguish. Nearly 50 years after penning his prediction about how Americans would commemorate our “day of deliverance,” Adams was asked to suggest a toast be made to his name. He replied: “It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment: Independence now and Independence forever.” Four days later, he lay on his deathbed and could hear cannons firing outside. In what might have been among his last words, he very simply shouted, “Independence forever!” The day was July 4.

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Built to Last

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

Management gurus James Collins and Jerry Porras penned a book in the mid-1990s titled “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.” The book, based on a six-year research project at Stanford University, examined 18 long-lasting companies. In the foreword the authors write, “… visionary companies distinguish their timeless core values and enduring purpose (which should never change) from their operating practices and business strategies (which should be changing constantly in response to a changing world).”

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives aren’t quite as well known as the companies of the study. But, when it comes to longevity and singleness of purpose, we’re definitely in the same league. Our cooperatives have been around for 75 years and counting.

Management techniques come and go, operational strategies flourish and then fade away, but core values remain constant. Over the years, your cooperative has likely had several leadership changes; employees retire and new hires take their place. Each generation brings changes in style and vision.

With an ever-changing cast, how do we stay focused on our primary purpose from decade to decade? The one thing that doesn’t change: the member-owners of the cooperative. Collectively, we’re owned by the members of the communities we serve.

To stay true to that core value, cooperatives answer directly to the membership. Members are elected to act as a governing board — making decisions on behalf of all the members. Board members enact policies that are in the best interests of the membership, and, in turn, the directors select a CEO to manage the day-to-day operations. The CEO answers to the board, and the board answers to the rest of the membership, through periodic re-election.

Breaking that down to Collins and Porras’ statement: The board selects management, which develops business strategies that adapt to a changing world; co-op members select a board that adheres to never-changing core values.

While policies have evolved since Tennessee’s first co-op was formed in the mid-1930s, the basic structure has provided a framework that has lasted well. We’ve not only survived but thrived because of that foundation on which we’re built. That “core value” of member ownership is what provides the enduring purpose of serving our communities.

It’s a model that works best when members participate. Co-op members throughout the state can, and should, attend their cooperative’s annual business meeting.

Each annual meeting is built around a business session, which always contains operating and financial reports that, along with other details, help provide vital information to you as a co-op member — to show that your cooperative’s leaders have been good stewards during the past year.

Most of these meetings are held from August through October. Given the numerous entertainment options that compete for our attention, most feature a variety of other activities — from health fairs to safety demonstrations to live entertainment. It’s just a few hours out of your schedule, and, as Bill Cosby used to say, “You might learn something before it’s done.”

The cooperative business model is one that works for small and large co-ops alike. It’s a model that is built to withstand economic highs and lows. It’s a model that is built to deal with natural disasters or man-made challenges.

It’s a model that’s built to last. The proof is there year after year.

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National Breathing Policy

Shawn Taylor,  Executive Director of the Wyoming Rural Electric Association

Here’s an idea. Let’s regulate how much air we in the United States can breathe.  Then let’s gradually, or not, increase the cost for breathing until people decide not to breathe. Or better yet, let’s have people from other countries sell us and decide how much air we can breathe and at what cost. We’ll call it the “National Breathing Policy.”

OK, so that example is a bit extreme. But if you look at everything that oil and its refined products provide for our country in our everyday lives, it might not be that big of a stretch to think that we would be hard pressed to survive as the world’s only superpower without this natural resource.

The big oil derrick spewing “black gold” from the top, or an oil pump jack with its methodical motion pumping oil out of the ground, may be people’s initial visual when thinking about oil. In terms of utility, most folks probably immediately think of oil as a motor lubricant or as gasoline when refined.

I’m guessing that most people don’t think of the compact disk they use in their computer, or the detergent used to wash clothes or dishes, or maybe the petrochemicals (refined oil products) that go into making synthetic materials for clothing, bedding, outdoor recreation equipment, etc.

One only needs to take a close look at the vast uses of oil to appreciate what it means to our daily lives and realize that we need it, we have it, and that we shouldn’t have to import a majority of it from foreign countries, many of which are not friendly to the United States.

In 2008 Secretary of Energy Steven Chu remarked that Americans should “punitively pay at the pump in order to wean them [us] off of gasoline.” This is like  raising the price of the air we breathe so as to legislate or more appropriately regulate how we as citizens behave.

If the current administration had its way, we as a country would pay considerably more for oil, so that we would use less. This is similar to their approach to the use of coal. Make it more expensive, even prohibitively more expensive to use so that we would use less.

On its surface, using less of our natural resources isn’t a bad ingredient for an energy policy – as long as we can stay as productive as we are and historically have been.

But being forced or regulated into using a more expensive and less reliable substitute is counter-productive. And not allowing domestic production of oil or any of our abundant natural resources is equally counter-productive.

When I worked in D.C. for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we continually invited members of Congress to travel to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to see first-hand what was being proposed for oil-and-gas development. We mainly focused on those members who time and again opposed drilling in ANWR, and we never got any takers.

In my opinion, it was because they didn’t want to see with their own eyes what could be done, and what has been done. That way, they could continue to tell their constituents, without having all the facts, that we shouldn’t develop this “pristine area.” This is our country’s current energy policy; don’t develop what we have, let’s import what others have.

Much like the past two resources we’ve highlighted in WREN (coal and natural gas), oil has played a pivotal role in Wyoming’s past by providing good-paying, stable jobs, revenue to the state coffers, and a source of energy across the country.  Unlike coal and natural gas however, oil production in Wyoming has been continually declining over the past few decades. However, new exploration and extraction technology (i.e. using CO2 for tertiary recovery) will help Wyoming continue to play a role in providing this vital domestic natural resource.

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