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Youth Tour is sponsored by Michigan Electric Cooperative Association (MECA) in conjunction with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Together, the organizations coordinate activities, learning sessions, and face-to-face meet-ups with their local law makers over the course of a week-long visit to Washington D.C. In June 2024 students from 44 states, including 17 Michigan delegates representing all MECA member co-ops, embarked on [...]

In mid-January, MECA and Wolverine hosted nearly 100 directors and cooperative staff to discuss recent energy legislation and its impact on Michigan electric cooperatives. Topics included: Energy Legislation Politics (Joe Baumann, Chief Legal Officer, Wolverine); Clean Energy Standard (Zach Anderson, COO, Wolverine & Lucas Johnson, Power Supply Manager, Wolverine); Energy Waste Reduction (Rachel Johnson, CEO, Cherryland); Renewable Energy Siting (Sam Hogg, Director of [...]

MECA secured a significant accomplishment for its member distribution cooperatives recently with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). MPSC delivered favorable news by addressing the applicability of outage credits to electric cooperatives. The original order was a result of last winter’s severe ice and snowstorms that hit Michigan businesses and residents hard. It revealed an increase in the outage credit [...]

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 communities, while providing a boost to local economies. Michigan’s [...]

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 coverings when presenting. “This was a really creative solution,” [...]