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.

NASHVILLE – As the massive Hurricane Sandy bears down on the Atlantic Seaboard, 60 lineworkers from Tennessee’s electric cooperatives are prepared to assist with power restoration once the storm subsides.

“Seven Tennessee cooperatives are sending volunteer lineworkers and equipment to assist cooperatives in Virginia and Maryland,” said David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “We expect this storm to cause extensive power outages, and our crews are staged in the area to respond quickly once it is safe to do so.”

Emergency work plans were put into place on Friday, Oct. 26, and crews from Tennessee headed for Virginia and Maryland beginning early on Saturday, Oct. 27. This cooperation is enabled through mutual aid agreements between electric cooperatives.

Assisting Northern Neck Electric Cooperative in Warsaw, Va.:

• four lineworkers from Chickasaw Electric Cooperative, Somerville

Assisting Rappahannock Electric Cooperative in Fredericksburg, Va.:

• five lineworkers from Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, Shelbyville
• four from Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative, Madisonville
• 12 from Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, New Tazewell

Assisting Choptank Electric Cooperative in Denton, Md.:

• eight lineworkers from Fayetteville Public Utilities, Fayetteville

Assisting A&N Electric Cooperative in Tasley, Va.:

• 10 lineworkers from Appalachian Electric Cooperative, New Market

Assisting Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative in New Castle, Va.:

• nine lineworkers from Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation, Brownsville

Assisting Community Electric Cooperative in Windsor, Va.:

• eight lineworkers from Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative, South Pittsburg

Tennessee’s Mountain Electric Cooperative, Mountain City, is expecting more than 10 inches of snow to fall in its service area as a result of the hurricane.  MEC abandoned plans to assist in Virginia and are now prepared to respond in the event of snow-related outages.

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade association representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.

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Contact:
Trent Scott | tscott@tnelectric.org | 731.608.1519

Updates will be provided as additional details become available.

“TECA staff has been supportive of Jim’s selection, and we’re extremely pleased to learn of his appointment as a TRA director,” says David Callis, executive vice president and general manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “Jim is a well-respected leader, and brings extensive utility industry experience to the TRA.”

A media release from Gov. Bill Haslam’s office is attached.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012

NEW TENNESSEE REGULATORY AUTHORITY TAKES FORM
Executive director, two directors appointed to reconfigured TRA

NASHVILLE – The newly reconfigured Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) has its first full-time executive director and two new part-time directors after Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s reforms were passed during this year’s legislative session.

Haslam worked with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) on the joint appointments of business executive Earl Taylor as executive director and utility industry veteran James Allison as a director.

The governor also appointed Herbert Hilliard, executive vice president and chief government relations officer of First Horizon National Corporation, as a TRA director.

“It is our job to make state government as accountable and responsive as possible to Tennesseans,” Haslam said. “These appointees bring years of experience and expertise to the TRA. I am grateful for their willingness to serve our citizens and appreciate the lieutenant governor and house speaker for their efforts in this selection process.

Passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Haslam, HB 2385/SB 2247 changed the membership of the TRA from four full-time members to five part-time members and established the executive director position, the first of which was to be jointly appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and house speaker.

The TRA sets utility rates and service standards of privately-owned telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities.

Taylor practiced law in Johnson City for ten years and has an executive background as part owner of the CBS affiliate in Knoxville and as a business developer in Knoxville, the Tri-Cities area, Florida and Texas. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a J.D. from the University of Memphis. Taylor serves as a Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority commissioner, Knoxville Fellows Program mentor and as a Young Life of Knoxville committee member.

Allison has utilities experience in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, and is also regarded as one of the top instant replay officials in college football after having been an on-field official in the Southeastern Conference for more than 12 years.

Hilliard has spent 42 years at First Horizon and is currently the board chair for the National Civil Rights Museum, a board member of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee and a commissioner for the Memphis/Shelby County Airport Authority.

“Six Tennessee cooperatives are sending volunteer lineworkers and equipment to assist cooperatives in Virginia,” said David Callis, executive vice president and general manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “With record-setting heat in the area, it is critical that power be restored as soon as possible. Like residents in the affected areas, our lineworkers face some very long and very hot days ahead of them.”

Emergency work plans were put into place on Saturday morning, June 30, and crews from Tennessee headed for Virginia later that day. This cooperation is enabled through mutual aid agreements between electric cooperatives.

Assisting Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative in Mount Crawford, Va.:

• five lineworkers from Mountain Electric Cooperative, Mountain City
• four from Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative, Madisonville
• five from Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative, South Pittsburg

Assisting Central Virginia Electric Cooperative in Arrington, Va.:

• 10 lineworkers from Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, New Tazewell
• six from Plateau Electric Cooperative, Oneida

Assisting BARC Electric Cooperative in Millboro, Va.:

• 10 lineworkers from Appalachian Electric Cooperative, New Market

Some Tennessee cooperatives received damage from the same storm system that impacted Virginia. Holston Electric Cooperative, Mountain Electric Cooperative, Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative and Volunteer Energy Cooperative service areas received wind-related storm damage over the weekend.

Holston Electric Cooperative and Powell Valley Electric Cooperative also had outages caused by a fire at TVA’s John Sevier generation plant. All service was restored on Friday evening. The John Sevier plant remains off-line, and TVA is requesting that northwest Tennessee residents conserve energy when possible until the plant resumes production and the high temperatures subside.

“We put our own members first. We only provide assistance to out-of-state co-ops after our own needs are met,” says Callis. “Sending crews and equipment to other states does represent a risk, but our cooperatives are always eager to help when possible.”

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade group representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.

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.

As we continue to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives, we like to showcase other ways that cooperatives benefit your local community — not by delivering a product or a service but by delivering on a commitment.

If we’re shopping, we tend to look for the best value for our money. It’s easy to think of a cooperative as a place where we shop or receive a service: seeds, fertilizer or electricity. But cooperatives don’t exist merely to sell a product — there are often a number of companies to take care of our needs.

Roy Spence is a well-known Texas entrepreneur, speaker and marketing genius. His success is tied to a philosophy that goes much deeper than merely promoting a product. His latest book is titled “It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose.” Spence writes that “purpose is a definitive statement about the difference you’re trying to make in the world.”

That’s the difference co-ops have been living since that first lightbulb began to transform rural America. Electric cooperatives deliver much more than electricity to our communities.

There’s a difference between being in your community and being invested in your community. Some businesses locate in your community because they see an opportunity to make a profit. Cooperatives locate in a community because they see a need.

One of our cooperative principles is Concern for Community. Our co-ops are heavily involved in the never-ending effort to keep industries located in our local communities. The Tennessee Valley Authority, Rural Utilities Service and state and local governments also participate. Sustainable development benefits us today and into the future.

Keeping an eye on our future, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association knows that the future of our communities is in our youth. Through the Washington Youth Tour program, we send local high school students to Washington, D.C., to learn about their nation. Our Youth Leadership Summit brings the best and brightest to Nashville to learn about state government. And working with the University of Tennessee and the 4-H Foundation, we teach junior-high students about teamwork and safety around electricity. Across the state, electric co-ops are active in your local schools with educational programs throughout the year.

Take the time to look at the countless other ways your local cooperative invests in your community. It could be something as simple as putting the Christmas lights up downtown or donating thousands of dollars through “round-up” programs.

Deciding whether to participate in a community program is easy for cooperatives. Rather than start with the “why,” “what” and “how,” our first question is, “Why not?” And that leads us back to our roots and our purpose for existing — the needs of our community.

If you would like to see how cooperatives in Tennessee and across the nation have participated in large-scale community service projects, go to www.touchstoneenergy.com.

Our weekend shopping excursion had several oddly related purchases. Among them: butter, dog food, cranberry juice and running gear. All interconnected to each other. And all have something uniquely in common with your electric bill. The link?

For the first clue, we go to England. The year is 1844, and 28 weavers have just formed the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. This group of tradesmen was able to collectively sell their products in a store that they could not have individually afforded. Yet working together, they prospered, eventually expanding into ownership of a mill and textile factory. The “Rochdale” principles they adopted eventually evolved into today’s Seven Cooperative Principles. Your electric cooperative still operates by them. And 2012 has been named the International Year of the Cooperative.

Residents of rural and suburban Tennessee are most likely members of an electric or telephone cooperative — often both. Occasionally derided as anachronistic relics of the Depression Era, electric cooperatives are anything but irrelevant. Nationwide, we’re leaders in energy-efficiency efforts, advanced metering infrastructure and alternative energy solutions. Member-owned and member-governed, we are nonprofits, operating as economically as possible and reinvesting margins back into the cooperative and the community.

“At a time when folks are losing faith in big corporations, the International Year of Cooperatives offers us a great opportunity to showcase many ways the local, consumer-owned and member-controlled cooperative form of business benefits communities all over the world,” declares Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The number of cooperatives is staggering: There are 900 electric cooperatives and 260 telephone cooperatives in the U.S., serving 42 million electric co-op members and 1.2 million rural telephone members. All told, the United States boasts 29,200 co-ops that run the gamut from insurance companies, food processors, daycare centers and apartment complexes to the better-known farmers co-ops.

Other familiar names you might not recognize as cooperatives are Ace Hardware, Blue Diamond Almonds, Welch’s, Nationwide Insurance, Sunkist, the Associated Press and Dairy Farmers of America. All are based on the same principle-driven model that forms the foundation for electric cooperatives.

So what co-op stops were on our shopping trip? The butter was made by Land O’ Lakes, the dog food came from Sumner Farmers Co-op, Ocean Spray made the cranberry juice and the running gear came from Recreational Equipment Inc. — better known as REI.
To quote Martin Lowery, longtime cooperative advocate and NRECA executive vice president of external affairs, “Co-ops empower people to take control over their own economic destiny. It’s in every co-op’s DNA to serve members in the best way possible. That’s why co-ops remain the best type of business around.”

For more information about the Rochdale cooperative, Benjamin Franklin’s cooperative effort and an international perspective, go to tnelectric.org.

Near the end of “Saving Private Ryan,” as Tom Hanks’ character is dying, he leans forward and mutters one last command to the young private: “Earn this.” He speaks the words after most of his men have died saving the private’s life. He speaks the words to the soldier in an effort to convey the magnitude of the sacrifice made on his behalf.

Moving forward with a new team in place for 2012, “Earn this” is our internal watchword at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.While not as dramatic as a life-or-death struggle, the foundation on which we’re building involves a legacy that began in the 1930s.Early cooperative leaders were more than pioneers. The tactics they used were revolutionary, and the business acumen they possessed was cutting edge. Investor- owned utilities and legislators first ignored them and then tried to run them out of business. The co-op organizers took them on — and won. They were fighting for a better life for themselves, their children and their communities.

More than 70 years later, those cooperative principles and goals remain unchanged.Whether the work was done in the 1930s or the 1990s, we have a legacy of service and commitment that is to be earned — not squandered. Just like our predecessors from the ’30s, we’re committed to using nothing less than the best tools and technologies available to us today. Though the methodology is dramatically different — electronic social media has replaced the telephone party line — the basic principles of our business model remain the same.

As we move forward at TECA, we’re aware of our task, and we have our focus Squarely on you — the co-op members.In addition to publishing The Tennessee Magazine, TECA provides energy marketing assistance and a variety of education and training to today’s cooperative leaders. We also coordinate legislative efforts to protect the interests of the electric cooperative members in the state.

Those black-and-white images of the past serve as silent sentinels that repeat the charge to earn their sacrifice — a charge that we embrace with a tremendously talented group of employees with more than 160 years of varied experiences working on behalf of rural Tennessee. That background and commitment power our progress as we work for you — for the next 70 years and far beyond.

Our leadership team:

Robin Conover, vice president of communications and editor of The Tennessee Magazine; Mike Knotts, director of government relations; Todd Blocker, director of member relations; Trent Scott, communications coordinator.

Chris Kirk, Ron Bell and Susan Pilgreen round out the staff of The Tennessee Magazine. Amy Jordan, Tina Smith, Andrea Knight and Miyuki Fowler provide accounting, human resources and administrative support.

As for myself — I have more than 25 years of public power background. My decade of work as TECA director of government relations was preceded by service at Tri-County Electric in Lafayette and the Tennessee Valley Authority in Chattanooga.

For much more information on TECA and bios of the employees that work on your behalf, click here.

Almost three years ago, I wrote about the Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America Plan. During the 2008 presidential campaign, the candidates said their plan would “help create 5 million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next 10 years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future”

As of early September 2011, at least 1,100 of those new jobs aren’t there, nor is the $535 million that helped fund them. Solyndra LLC, which manufactured solar systems for commercial rooftops, suspended operations and filed for bankruptcy that month.

Next stop? Congressional hearings.

Without addressing any alleged improprieties surrounding the Department of Energy funding process, it’s obvious that the Solyndra loan was a bust to the federal government and private investors. Despite that failure, investing in renewable energy sources and creating new jobs still make sense, even though one congressman went as far to state that Solyndra’s downfall proves “that green energy isn’t going to be the solution.”

He’s partly correct — there is no “one” solution to our energy challenges. America’s cooperatives have long stated that there is no silver bullet that will magically solve all of our energy problems. That’s why we work hard to educate our members on ways to cut their energy consumption. But given growth in energy use and the relentless pressure to abandon coal as an energy source, utilities are forced to walk a fine line between investing in cleaner generation for the future while continuing to provide reliable and affordable generation for the here and now.

If our nation and our industry are to move forward, continued investments in research and development in energy sources are a necessity, despite the Solyndra debacle. According to the Washington Post, “The Energy Department’s loan-guarantee program, enacted in 2005 with bipartisan support, has backed nearly $38 billion in loans for 40 projects around the country. Solyndra represents just 1.3 percent of that portfolio — and, as yet, it’s the only loan that has soured … just a small fraction of loan guarantees go toward solar. The program’s biggest bet to date is an $8.33 billion loan guarantee for a nuclear plant down in Georgia.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority and electric cooperatives across the nation continue to be leaders in pursuing cost-effective renewable and low-emission energy strategies for their members. Building on the theme of multiple solutions, TVA has contracts in place that provide a large portfolio of wind power, solar generating facilities and methane throughout the Valley. As of July 2011, TVA’s owned and purchased renewable energy capacity was nearly 4,800 megawatts, including hydro, with commitments to add nearly 1,300 megawatts of combined wind, solar, landfill, methane and biomass.

TVA also continues to build and renovate its nuclear fleet. All of those generating sources emit far less carbon emissions than coal-fired generation.

What do all of those energy sources have in common? They’re all powered by the same source — funding, and lots of it. The electric utility industry is very capital-intensive, which is a very proper way of saying that it takes a tremendous amount of money to research, develop and build electric-generating units (even more so if those sources involve new or complex technologies).

However, investments in the future can’t be made at the risk of bankrupting the present. No matter what entity funds the investment in new technologies, the increased spending eventually works down to your electric bill or your tax bill.

As the Solyndra saga continues to unfold, let’s hope “the baby doesn’t get thrown out with the bathwater.” Government-guaranteed loans are a way to allow the government to outsource research and development costs. Properly evaluated, loan guarantees can speed development of carbon-sequestration technologies, nuclear generation and wind or other renewable generation. Each can play a role in our energy future — which we hope is an affordable energy future.