MECA Introduces New “Co-op Foundations” Workshop
MECA celebrated National Co-op Month with a series of "Cooperative Foundations" workshops in October, which focused on co-op history, principles, and purpose. "We used to offer a similar half-day workshop in partnership with NRECA," says Doug Snitgen, Executive Vice President at MECA. "But, when we discovered that NRECA no longer offers their course, Great [...]
Mutual Aid Teams Restore Power After Devastating Windstorms
More than 864,000 Michigan households were left without power last week after multiple rounds of severe windstorms rolled through the state. Gusts of up to 104 mph leveled hundreds of trees and launched trampolines and other debris into the branches of those left standing. MECA Safety Director, Joe McElroy, was stranded at a Safety [...]
Michigan Co-ops Participate in the 2021 NRECA Legislative Conference
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 [...]
Filling A Gap: Michigan Co-ops Bring Electric Vehicle Chargers to Rural Communities
The remote town of Onaway, Michigan—population 880—is not an obvious pick to install a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station. While most EV charging stations today are in urban areas or along expressways, Michigan’s electric cooperatives are planning for a different future. Placing chargers in rural areas will allow EV drivers to visit smaller [...]
MECA Helps Produce PIE&G Virtual Annual Meeting
Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G) continued the recent trend by holding its 83rd Annual Membership Meeting as a live, online event. The meeting was live streamed from the co-op headquarters building in Onaway via Zoom video conference. A multi-camera setup allowed directors in attendance to stay 6-feet apart and only remove face [...]
$16 Billion Rural Broadband Auction Kicks Off
190 Electric Co-ops Among Qualified Bidders The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the list of qualifying bidders and a map of available territories for the upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction. This $16 billion auction opens up the opportunity to extend broadband to these rural areas of electric and telephone cooperatives, consortiums, and other [...]