Voting for the board of your local electric cooperative is a social affair, where voting is performed in-person at the co-op’s annual meeting. These meetings represent the chance for co-op member-owners to select cooperative leadership, to hear a report on co-op operational health, and to potentially influence policy at the local level. Through this process, member-owners can address their concerns and share their support for renewable energy generation in the cooperative’s future.
PRN’s Anthony Henson recently attended the Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting in rural Murphysboro, and offered this account.
Participation requires buy-in, committing an evening which, this time, included moderate commutes and high temperatures. The cooperative was ready to offset those challenges by being great hosts—easy parking was available next to the emptied warehouse in which the meeting was to take place, and registration was easy and transparent, with each member receiving a paper ballot with a list of candidates.
This year there was extra energy, as it was a competitive election, with three incumbents aiming to fend off a candidate by petition. After registration, the line for hot dogs and a Coke began. The co-op had to feed a large crowd, as 500 member-owners showed up to vote. A bluegrass band played on the central stage, accompanying this swirl of activity.
The cooperative kept the crowd involved, performing a “live-line” demonstration, demonstrating the dangers of downed power lines, and a series of prize raffles. Ten college scholarships were also announced. Then the annual meeting officially began with a reciting of the U.S. national anthem, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Each incumbent and the challenger received 5-minute slots to speak. Two candidates mentioned renewable energy, while the challenger was the sole candidate to mention climate change. The paper ballots were then collected, to be counted during the rest of the meeting, which consisted of a variety of officers’ reports. At the end, votes were counted and returned, with the three incumbents defeating the challenger’s campaign.
Spending an evening at your rural electric cooperative’s annual meeting is a worthy commitment to strengthen the non-profit utility that is your co-op. While the crowd in Murphysboro skewed older, the activities were certainly family friendly. And while a crowd of 500 is impressive, it’s still a small percentage of over 15,000 member-owners of the co-op. Every person who participates strengthens energy democracy, and can potentially influence future energy policy that addresses the challenges of the climate crisis.
If you live in electric cooperative territory and are interested in energy issues, contact Prairie Rivers’ Rural Energy Organizer Anthony Henson at ahenson@prairierivers.org.
