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More than 1,500 electric cooperative leaders from across the country participated in the NRECA Legislative Conference this week (April 20-23). While the annual conference typically includes a full schedule of in-person meetings with members of Congress in their Washington, D.C. offices, ongoing coronavirus restrictions required all appointments to be held virtually this year.

Michigan used two teams of managers, staff and directors to deliver the co-op message on priority issues. Team members included: Tony Anderson and Gabe Schneider (Cherryland Electric Cooperative); Tom Sobeck and Sandy Borowicz (Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op); Chris O’Neill, Brandon Trierweiler, and John Lord (HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative); Dallas Braun (Thumb Electric Cooperative); Craig Borr, Doug Snitgen, Katie Deller, Lindsay Elsholz, and Casey Clark (MECA). Louis Finkel, Kelly Wismer, Hill Thomas, and Bridgette Bourge (NRECA) also participated in several meetings.

The teams’ schedules included virtual meetings with Sen. Gary Peters, and Reps. John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman, Tim Walberg, and Fred Upton, as well as with legislative staff for the offices of Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Reps. Peter Meijer, Debbie Dingell, Bill Huizenga, Dan Kildee, Lisa McClain, and Elissa Slotkin.

Co-op representatives stressed three advocacy priorities at the meetings, asking members of Congress to:

• Cosponsor and pass the Flexible Financing for Rural America Act (H.R. 2244 / S. 978), which would allow co-ops to refinance Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loans to current low-interest rates.
• Promote advanced energy technology by allowing co-op access to tax incentives.
• Promote rural broadband expansion with targeted federal funding to unserved and underserved communities

“It’s best when we can build these relationships in-person,” said Craig Borr, MECA President/CEO, “But, we were able to have meaningful and productive virtual meetings with our policymakers, and the feedback has been very positive.”

More information about the NRECA Legislative Conference, including full Fact Sheets for each of the priority issues, can be found at cooperative.com

From social distancing to face coverings, the coronavirus pandemic has forced the world to adapt to new ways of doing things. For many cooperatives, this includes creative solutions for the annual membership meeting.

Earlier this month, Cherryland Electric Cooperative and Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Assn. held virtual annual meetings online—a first for both co-ops.

Incumbent directors Tom Van Pelt and David Schweitzer were reelected at the Cherryland meeting. Eleven percent of Cherryland’s members voted in the election—70% of the votes were cast online and 30% were mail-in ballots.

The event was live-streamed with multiple camera angles on Facebook and YouTube, but only board members with a speaking role were able to attend in person. Members were encouraged to submit their questions on the social platforms, while directors in attendance stayed 6-feet apart and only removed face coverings when speaking at the podium.

“We’ve live-streamed previous annual meetings using a phone, but the upgraded technology setup we used this year will enable us to broadcast an enhanced live-stream in future years,” said Rachel Johnson, Cherryland’s member services manager.

Incumbent directors Ivy Netzel, Kirk Bruno and Ray Young were seated at the Alger Delta meeting. The event was live broadcast via Zoom webinar, with each director attending on separate devices at the co-op office in order to maintain a safe social distance. Members were invited to submit questions via the Zoom platform.

Both co-ops expressed a preference for in-person annual meetings, but lessons learned from this year’s virtual events could help make annual meetings more accessible for co-op members in the future.

“We hope to do a hybrid approach next year,” said Amanda Seger, Alger Delta’s CFO. “We want to get back to in-person, but adding a virtual option just makes sense.”

Mandatory shutdowns of schools, businesses and public gathering spaces related to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic have had a significant impact on our personal and professional lives. But, through all the uncertainty and constantly-changing conditions, Michigan’s electric cooperatives have remained dedicated to keeping the power on.

Safety preparedness and response has always been a vital part of our energy industry, and member co-ops have taken appropriate precautionary measures to protect employees and help prevent the spread of the virus. Most MECA member co-ops have closed their lobbies, equipped employees to work from home, and canceled all non-essential business travel. Many are also asking employees to report personal travel and to impose self-quarantines for 14 days following any out-of-state travel.

Online collaboration platforms are becoming increasingly important as co-ops shift board meetings to virtual conferences and employees grapple with how to best communicate with each other remotely.

The entire member services team at Cherryland began working remotely at the beginning of this week. “It was a bit of a fire drill, but we got everyone set up on Microsoft Teams,” said Rachel Johnson, Cherryland’s member services manager. “We didn’t have time for proper training and we’re working through a learning curve, but it’s going to be a great tool for keeping the team organized and connected.”

MECA is also looking to help protect the health and safety of employees, as well as those the association serves. After careful consideration, MECA has temporarily suspended the delivery of traditional classroom safety training services, and all employees are working remotely.

This situation is fluid and changes quickly. MECA will begin hosting a weekly teleconference call with member CEOs each Friday to give member co-ops a forum to share and discuss issues related to COVID-19.