by KENT SINGER, CREA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit.”

The strength of the electric cooperative program is contained within this definition of the word “cooperation.”  Since the beginning of the program in the 1930s, people all across Colorado have banded together in their communities to form locally owned and operated electric companies. Through the cooperation of their member-owners, these electric companies have been able to survive and to thrive in the face of many challenges.
The same is true of the Colorado Rural Electric Association. Throughout its existence, CREA has been able to accomplish great things because its members have been willing to set aside their individual interests and act together to achieve common goals. This “commitment to cooperation” has been the cornerstone of CREA’s success in becoming the effective and credible trade association that represents Colorado’s electric cooperatives today.

In the late 1990s, this cooperative spirit enabled CREA to successfully fend off efforts to restructure the electric industry in a way that would have harmed rural consumers.  More recently, the ability of the CREA family to work cooperatively led to the legislature’s adoption of reasonable renewable portfolio standards for the electric cooperatives, as well as to a net metering program that is fair and achievable.  Every day, CREA is at the table working with policy makers and other stakeholders in the ongoing discussion about the best energy policy for Colorado.

Colorado’s electric cooperatives are as diverse as Colorado itself. Covering approximately two-thirds of the land mass of Colorado, the service territory of CREA’s members stretches from Kansas to Utah and from Wyoming to New Mexico. While many members serve primarily farmers and ranchers, others serve more urban and suburban communities. While most members buy their power from Tri-State, some buy their power from Xcel Energy. And while some of our members serve large industrial customers, others are supported nearly entirely by their residential loads.

As a trade association representing this diverse group of co-ops, we at CREA are only as strong as the will of its members to act in a cooperative fashion. Those of us involved with and committed to the electric cooperative program frequently refer to the electric cooperative “family,” because in many ways we are like a big, extended family. The electric cooperative family is made up of not only the hundreds of employees, managers and directors of Colorado’s electric cooperatives, but also the thousands of member-owners of those co-ops. The cooperative business structure is unique, because all of you who are customers of your electric cooperative are also the owners of the cooperative and therefore members of our extended family.

Like any family, ours has many points of view. Some members believe that the traditional sources of electric generation are the most affordable and reliable, while others believe that the emphasis should be on energy efficiency and the use of renewable power sources. At CREA, we believe that there is room for all of these viewpoints under one tent. We are not always going to agree, but we firmly believe in the right of every CREA member to express its viewpoint and be heard.

We are committed to providing many of the tools that our brothers and sisters in the electric cooperative family need to thrive and prosper. We have experts in accident prevention who help our members provide a safe workplace. We have this award-winning magazine that is an essential tool for telling the electric cooperative story. We have energy policy experts who fight for your interests in Denver and Washington, D.C. CREA provides an essential network that enables all of our members to support each other, share ideas, offer assistance and, most importantly, stand up for our customers. This network exists due to the cooperation of all of our members.

This is an exciting and challenging time to be involved in the electric cooperative program. Exciting, because with each passing day there are advancements in research and technology that may one day revolutionize the manner in which electricity is produced and delivered to end-use consumers. Challenging, because until these technologies are commercially feasible we have an obligation to provide affordable and reliable service to our members.

One of the key principles of the electric cooperative program is “cooperation among cooperatives.” This idea is critical to the continued success of the program, including our work at CREA. Despite our differences, the common denominator for all the electric cooperatives is this: They are all nonprofit, member-owned, community-based power providers. We at CREA will always defend the co-ops’ right of self-determination. We are counting on the commitment and cooperation of all of Colorado’s electric cooperatives so that we can be successful in this mission.