Three northern Michigan electric cooperatives welcomed the Administrator of Rural Utilities Services (RUS), Chad Rupe, to Great Lakes Energy’s headquarters in Boyne City on Oct. 10.
Rupe visited the area from Washington, D.C. to meet with and learn more about the work of the three local electric cooperatives who all receive loan funding through RUS. Officials from the USDA Rural Development office and the RUS State Director from Missouri also joined in the visit.
Great Lakes Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Bill Scott, provided information about each of the three co-ops, including Cloverland Electric Cooperative headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie and Alger Delta Electric headquartered in Gladstone.
Scott noted different challenges faced by each co-op and their leveraging of economic development loans and resources to boost local businesses and each area’s economy.
Scott Blecke, Great Lakes Energy’s Vice President of Engineering, spoke of the difficulty of growing and evolving in rural areas without an adequate communications network. He referred to Truestream, the fiber internet service Great Lakes Energy is rolling out to its members, adding that, “Seventy percent of our footprint is unserved by internet other than satellite.”
Rupe observed that co-ops are central to the community, just like a bank or post office. He noted their mission aligns with that of the RUS administration and added that current economic development initiatives co-ops are undertaking, such as delivering high-speed fiber internet services, will provide viability to the communities co-ops serve for future generations.
Pictured above: Great Lakes Energy hosts Chad Rupe, Administrator of Rural Utilities Services (RUS), at their headquarters in Boyne City. Pictured, front row – Shari Culver (Great Lakes Energy), Traci Smith (USDA), Jeff Smith (RUS), Shaun Lamp (Great Lakes Energy), Bill Scott (Great Lakes Energy), Chad Rupe (RUS Administrator), John Fettig (Great Lakes Energy), Mike Heise (Cloverland). Back row – Tom Harrell (Alger Delta), Jason Allen (USDA), Scott Blecke (Great Lakes Energy), Steve Drake (Great Lakes Energy), Aaron Wallin (Cloverland), Pat Sarve (RUS).