Energy

National convention discusses ‘The next greatest thing’

By Michael E.C. Gery

April 2016

JoeBrannan

North Carolina participates in discussion

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives were recognized for the second-highest number of ACRE members in the nation. ACRE, or the Action Committee for Rural Electrification, is the federal Political Action Committee (PAC) facilitated by NRECA. It supports candidates in the U.S. House and Senate who will speak for and protect the interests of electric cooperatives and their member-owners.

“Our electric cooperative board members and employees are dedicated to ensuring cooperative members are represented by individuals locally and in Congress for all,” said Nelle Hotchkiss, senior vice president of corporate relations at the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives. “With this strong foundation of support, we now look to extend the opportunity to our cooperative members and through education, we hope to engage them in the political process.”

YouthTouristIsaac

Blue Ridge Electric Youth Tourist Isaac Tuttle assisted during several education forums by gathering questions from the audience for the panelists to answer. “Being a Youth Tourist is a great experience, especially given the opportunity to represent my state at the NRECA annual meeting. The meeting allowed me to connect with new people and learn more about the cooperatives.”

Marshall Cherry, COO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative, and Dale Lambert, CEO of Randolph EMC, served as panelists at the ACRE education forum on how to grow ACRE membership. Lambert also paneled a discussion on the changing landscape of power supply and how rural cooperatives stay ahead of these changes. Lambert commented that “flexibility and diversity are the keys to working within the changing landscape, and cooperatives must be the trusted energy advisor for their members and all things energy.”

N.C. representatives who also served on education forum panels included Joe Brannan, CEO of North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC) and Mike Burnette, senior vice president and COO of NCEMC. Both took part in sessions focused on energy and tech trends and the discussion on how and why cooperatives must be member-focused.

At the Consumer vs. Kilowatts: Being the Trusted Energy Advisor for Your Members forum, Brannan stated that cooperatives must reach out and communicate on all energy subjects, especially the difficult ones. “If you say ‘these are all the options. Let me share with you information that will help you make a decision,’ you increase and enrich the trust that you have with your members.”