A Seat at the Table

With every presidential inauguration comes a period of learning.

Nearly six months into President Donald Trump’s first term, Washington is still adjusting.

America’s electric cooperatives engaged early on to make sure the new administration recognizes the importance of affordable, reliable electricity to local economies.

Within three months of Trump taking office, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson had already met with the new Secretary of Energy and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as presidential advisors on rural, infrastructure and agriculture issues.

“In a time of uncertainty, it’s all the more important for us to remain at the table, be active participants in the policy environment and assert ourselves as the voice of American consumers,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson.

As part of the effort to keep electric co-ops central to national issues, Matheson was recently appointed to a new Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee formed by the Federal Communications Commission. The committee will make recommendations to accelerate the deployment of broadband by reducing and removing regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment.

Co-ops evaluate the actions of any new administration according to one simple principle: How will these actions affect the 42 million electric cooperative members? We’re still in the early days of the new administration, and we are encouraged by the willingness of cabinet members and key staff to listen to what co-ops have to say.