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2025

Powering Forward

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Electric co-op leaders meet to conduct business

Every fall the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, of which the Colorado Rural Electric Association and Colorado’s electric co-ops are members, hosts regional meetings for the purpose of considering member resolutions and conducting other business. The resolutions adopted by electric co-ops around the country guide the policy direction of our national trade group and reflect the bottom-up approach to governance.

This year’s Regions 7&9 Meeting (Colorado is in Region 7) was held in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. At this meeting, delegates representing states in these two regions heard presentations from a variety of different experts in the energy industry as well as updates from co-op leaders and other affiliated companies that support electric co-ops.

One of the main objectives of the meeting is to have the regional delegates consider proposed new resolutions and amendments to existing resolutions. This year, electric co-op leaders voted on two new resolutions. The first encourages NRECA to lobby for reliable postal service. As you may have experienced, postal service has been deteriorating in rural Colorado, in some cases impacting the delivery of this magazine and other communications from your co-op. Electric co-ops and their members depend on reliable postal service, and we will continue to let our members of Congress know that the recent problems are unacceptable.

The second new resolution encourages NRECA to support the development of artificial intelligence technology that could benefit electric co-ops. While co-ops, in many cases, are challenged to provide the power necessary to support AI data centers, there are also AI use cases that can improve the efficiency of co-ops.

Other resolutions that were considered at the regional meeting related to reducing the risk of wildfires, providing for voluntary membership in regional transmission organizations, and setting a reasonable time frame for the industry to incorporate more renewable energy.

When it comes to considering the new resolutions or amendments to existing resolutions, NRECA has a very thorough process that encourages member participation and input. I chaired the Region 7 resolutions committee as well as the vote that took place the next day to approve the resolutions. Every NRECA member who attended the regional meeting had the right and opportunity to suggest changes to any of the resolutions that govern NRECA’s lobbying activities.

At the regional meeting, I also counted votes for a director election to the board of directors of CFC, one of the banks that provides capital to electric co-ops. We checked and double-checked the votes to make sure we arrived at the same outcome each time.

Everyone associated with the electric co-op program takes voting and elections very seriously, and we do our best to make sure the results are accurate. You can rest assured that this responsibility is also fulfilled by your local electric co-op whenever there is an election for board members or other business.

Kent Singer is the executive director of CREA and offers a statewide perspective on issues affecting electric cooperatives. CREA is the trade association for 21 Colorado electric distribution co-ops and one power supply co-op.

NRECA Legislative Conference Recap

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In last month’s Colorado Country Life, CREA’s Director of Government Relations, Taylor Ward, provided a recap of the association’s successful work during the recently completed session of the Colorado General Assembly.

While most of our political advocacy work for electric co-ops is done in Colorado, CREA also works with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association to promote the interests of electric co-ops in Washington, D.C. We work with the offices of Colorado’s two United States senators and eight representatives to protect and promote the electric co-op business model on a national level.

As part of our federal advocacy, each year CREA supports and organizes Colorado’s electric co-op participation in NRECA’s annual Legislative Conference in Washington. This conference brings together over 2,000 electric co-op directors and staff from across the country to meet with members of Congress and address co-op concerns and issues.

At this year’s gathering, approximately 50 representatives of Colorado’s electric co-ops joined the CREA team in meetings with our Congressional delegation. We were fortunate this year that Congress was in session the week we were in D.C., so we were able to meet with both of our senators as well as five of our eight members of Congress. We also met with terrific staff members from the other three offices when the representatives had scheduling conflicts.

We focused on five main issues in our meetings in D.C. First, we thanked the members for their support of recent federal laws that provide funding to co-ops to complete projects that will improve the reliability and resiliency of rural electric systems. Second, we asked the members to continue to support co-op investments in wildfire mitigation projects, grid hardening, and cybersecurity improvements. Third, we asked the Colorado delegation to continue to support federal legislation that will provide a better opportunity for co-ops to remove hazardous trees and reduce the threat of wildfires. The Fix Our Forests Act expands the width of electric utility rights of way on federal lands and expedites the permitting process for co-ops to clear vegetation from around power lines. Fourth, we reminded our representatives of the importance of hydropower in our energy mix and asked that they support adequate staffing for the Western Area Power Administration. Fifth, we asked the members to continue to support the Federal Emergency Management Administration and its work with co-ops in the aftermath of natural disasters.

The Colorado congressional delegation has a wide range of viewpoints on energy policy and other matters. However, we believe that the mission of Colorado’s not-for-profit, member-owned electric co-ops is one that everyone can get behind.

We’re very grateful to the directors and staff of our member cooperatives who made the trip to Washington, D.C., and we collectively appreciate the work our delegation does on behalf of the state and Colorado’s electric co-ops. There is more work to be done on all of these issues, and Colorado’s electric co-ops will continue to partner with our members of Congress in the coming months to help co-ops serve their communities with reliable and affordable power.