MECA hosted an Electric Cooperative Foundations workshop at the Wolverine Power Cooperative office in Cadillac on Sept. 20. “This workshop has three main goals,” said Doug Snitgen, Executive Vice President at MECA. “We want every participant to gain a better understanding of the cooperative model, connect the cooperative principles and values to their own daily work, and meet employees from other Michigan co-ops [...]
Hurricane Irma has plowed into Georgia leaving hundreds of thousands in the state without power. Today, 31 Michigan co-op linemen are headed south to help Georgia co-ops, Irwin EMC and Middle Georgia EMC, bring the lights back on. The Michigan team will stay in southern Indiana tonight. After a safety briefing tomorrow morning lead by Joe McElroy, MECA's safety director, the group will [...]
A day in the life of a lineman and the Michigan Partners for Power 2018 project in Bolivia headlined the 80th Annual Meeting of HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative on August 19 in Mount Pleasant. Blanchard linemen Rick Warchuck and Cody Teegardin talked about their jobs as linemen and how being away from home for mutual aid during storms affects their families. Both men [...]
Wolverine Power Cooperative announced today an agreement to purchase Baker College of Cadillac’s Center for Transportation and Technology (CTT). The facility, located at 4800 S. Morey Road (M-66) in Lake City, Mich., will become a state-of-the-art electric utility training center, and house the Joint Michigan Apprentice Program (JMAP). "Michigan electric cooperatives have a rich tradition of training utility apprentices spanning the last 30 years [...]
Cherryland members were introduced to a new voting option for the 2017 board election. In addition to voting via a mail-in ballot or in-person at the annual meeting, members could cast their vote using any device with an internet connection. Cherryland partnered with Survey & Ballot Systems of Minnesota to administer the voting. The outcome? The 2017 board election had the most ballots cast [...]
Chassell High School was the setting for the 2017 Ontonagon County Rural Electrification Association’s (OCREA’s) Annual Meeting held on Saturday, June 17. Approximately 150 members from the co-op’s five county service area attended the event which featured food, prize drawings, reports from the co-op manager and the board of directors and seating of new directors. According to General Manager Debbie Miles, “This is [...]
Online registration is now open for both the Electric Co-op Foundations and Member Services training sessions this fall! Member Services Training About the course This course focuses on customer communication skills and is designed to help each service provider understand the importance of providing positive “moments of truth” through each and every encounter he or she has with customers. An emphasis will be [...]
Midwest Energy Cooperative’s CEO, Bob Hance, was invited by U.S. Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas to testify before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in Frankenmuth last Saturday, May 6. Mr. Roberts is the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman and hails from Kansas. The title of the hearing was "Growing Jobs and Economic Opportunity: Perspectives on the 2018 Farm Bill from Michigan." Both MECA and [...]
After 32 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Michigan electric cooperative family, Brian Burns, CEO of Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G), will retire on May 5, 2017. “Brian has been a tremendous asset to our team,” said Craig Borr, CEO of the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. “Over the years his integrity and insights have been invaluable. He will be [...]
Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association will meet more of its customers’ electricity needs with power harnessed from the sun thanks to a recently announced agreement between Alger Delta’s not-for-profit power supplier, WPPI Energy, and NextEra Energy Resources. WPPI Energy and NextEra Energy Resources recently announced plans to build a 100 megawatt solar energy center – Wisconsin’s largest – with a capacity to serve [...]
