Why Coop Elections Matter
The election of strong candidates to our nation's rural electric cooperatives’ Boards of Directors is of vital importance to our nation's energy future. Anyone who would hold that such election success is too small a thing to effect true change has obviously never spent a night in a sleeping bag with a mosquito. If you have spent such a night then you know how something very small can make you uncomfortable, cause you to change your position, or possibly make you move to a new place altogether.
The election of candidates to rural electric cooperatives’ Boards can help cause a switch from dangerous fossil fuels to the cleanest, safest energy choices available. They can also lead to an adherence to transparent governance practices with an open ear to a co-op's membership. Not bad for a tiny mosquito. A little history on the subject will explain why this mosquito can be so effective.
Traditionally, electric cooperative Board rooms have been sleepy places where once a month management reported on the activities at the co-op and informed the Board of Directors what approvals would be needed to continue the healthy operation of the business and the Board would dutifully approve management's requests. Management looked upon the days of the these meetings as a necessary once a month irritation and many of the Board members looked upon the meeting day as the one day of the month that they did co-op business. As long as the co-op could pay their bills and the members were not upset about rates, everything was considered to be functioning well.
Under these circumstances it was easy for the co-ops to remain out of public notice. Many co-op members had no idea they belonged to an electric cooperative, where their energy came from, or how their rates compared to those of other electric utilities. Very few realized that they were actually members of their electric utility with a voting-voice in how the organization was run. So far, no mosquitoes have made their way into the room.
But in the past ten years the topic of energy has frequently been the lead story in every major news publication, and television and radio station in the country if not around the world. News of climate change, or 'climate chaos' as it has come to be known, has been before us on a constant basis. The public has been looking for ways to engage with and improve this climate challenging situation. Their pursuit of answers educated them to the reality that the burning of coal for the creation of electricity is the leading cause of the greenhouse gas emissions that are raising the temperature of the planet. That knowledge led them directly to their electric utilities. As a result, the electric utility industry, including co-ops, are having a much more difficult time keeping their business out of the notice of their members and the public in general. As the public took greater interest in the workings of their power providers it did not always like what it found. The mosquitoes are now buzzing but they are still outside of the room.
Among the 930 rural electric cooperatives supplying power to rural America there are good and bad actors. In just the last few years issues of poor governance, self aggrandizement among Board members, and a severe lack of transparency have surfaced in several of the nation's larger cooperatives. These problems came to light only after individual members or member groups brought them to light. The reform efforts of these members were frequently met with resistance and denial but eventually these crusaders were rewarded with the election of better Board members and the enactment of reformative actions within the co-op organizations. Now the mosquitoes are in full flight, buzzing around just the right ears, making the owners of those ears uncomfortable, teasing them out of their positions of complacency.
Good governance for rural electric cooperatives has always been based on democratic principles. One of the 7 Co-op Principles which all electric cooperatives have adopted, states that co-ops are democratic organizations controlled by their members who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights. And yet in some cooperatives members are barred from the Board room and are denied access to information on Board policies and decisions. In other co-ops members are offered a chance to win a prize if they will allow the existing Board to vote for the member by proxy in the co-op Board election. These opaque versions of governance fall completely outside any reasonable interpretation of the principle of democratic involvement of members.
If professional, competent government regulators were watching the co-ops' operations the members could rest assured that someone is advocating for their best interest. The reality is that in 31 of the 47 states where co-ops operate regulators take the position that co-ops are successfully self regulated by local Boards of Directors. This means that no government organization, not the federal government, not the state government, and not the local government have regular oversight of the co-op's operating standards. That job is left to the Board members, many of whom see their involvement with the co-op as a one day per month activity or even worse as an opportunity for self promotion. Obviously, more mosquitoes are needed.
Yes, more of these regulator-Board-members are necessary to assure that the members' desires are sought out, respected, and implemented; to assure that the acts of governance followed by the Board are transparent and beneficial; to guarantee open, honest elections; to assure that Board members and management are serving the members best interests instead of their own. That is what can be accomplished by a tiny mosquito when it acts as if it is being driven into flight by the words of Edward Abbey when he said, "If you don't keep things stirred up, scum rises to the top." And that is why co-op elections matter.
The election of candidates to rural electric cooperatives’ Boards can help cause a switch from dangerous fossil fuels to the cleanest, safest energy choices available. They can also lead to an adherence to transparent governance practices with an open ear to a co-op's membership. Not bad for a tiny mosquito. A little history on the subject will explain why this mosquito can be so effective.
Traditionally, electric cooperative Board rooms have been sleepy places where once a month management reported on the activities at the co-op and informed the Board of Directors what approvals would be needed to continue the healthy operation of the business and the Board would dutifully approve management's requests. Management looked upon the days of the these meetings as a necessary once a month irritation and many of the Board members looked upon the meeting day as the one day of the month that they did co-op business. As long as the co-op could pay their bills and the members were not upset about rates, everything was considered to be functioning well.
Under these circumstances it was easy for the co-ops to remain out of public notice. Many co-op members had no idea they belonged to an electric cooperative, where their energy came from, or how their rates compared to those of other electric utilities. Very few realized that they were actually members of their electric utility with a voting-voice in how the organization was run. So far, no mosquitoes have made their way into the room.
But in the past ten years the topic of energy has frequently been the lead story in every major news publication, and television and radio station in the country if not around the world. News of climate change, or 'climate chaos' as it has come to be known, has been before us on a constant basis. The public has been looking for ways to engage with and improve this climate challenging situation. Their pursuit of answers educated them to the reality that the burning of coal for the creation of electricity is the leading cause of the greenhouse gas emissions that are raising the temperature of the planet. That knowledge led them directly to their electric utilities. As a result, the electric utility industry, including co-ops, are having a much more difficult time keeping their business out of the notice of their members and the public in general. As the public took greater interest in the workings of their power providers it did not always like what it found. The mosquitoes are now buzzing but they are still outside of the room.
Among the 930 rural electric cooperatives supplying power to rural America there are good and bad actors. In just the last few years issues of poor governance, self aggrandizement among Board members, and a severe lack of transparency have surfaced in several of the nation's larger cooperatives. These problems came to light only after individual members or member groups brought them to light. The reform efforts of these members were frequently met with resistance and denial but eventually these crusaders were rewarded with the election of better Board members and the enactment of reformative actions within the co-op organizations. Now the mosquitoes are in full flight, buzzing around just the right ears, making the owners of those ears uncomfortable, teasing them out of their positions of complacency.
Good governance for rural electric cooperatives has always been based on democratic principles. One of the 7 Co-op Principles which all electric cooperatives have adopted, states that co-ops are democratic organizations controlled by their members who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights. And yet in some cooperatives members are barred from the Board room and are denied access to information on Board policies and decisions. In other co-ops members are offered a chance to win a prize if they will allow the existing Board to vote for the member by proxy in the co-op Board election. These opaque versions of governance fall completely outside any reasonable interpretation of the principle of democratic involvement of members.
If professional, competent government regulators were watching the co-ops' operations the members could rest assured that someone is advocating for their best interest. The reality is that in 31 of the 47 states where co-ops operate regulators take the position that co-ops are successfully self regulated by local Boards of Directors. This means that no government organization, not the federal government, not the state government, and not the local government have regular oversight of the co-op's operating standards. That job is left to the Board members, many of whom see their involvement with the co-op as a one day per month activity or even worse as an opportunity for self promotion. Obviously, more mosquitoes are needed.
Yes, more of these regulator-Board-members are necessary to assure that the members' desires are sought out, respected, and implemented; to assure that the acts of governance followed by the Board are transparent and beneficial; to guarantee open, honest elections; to assure that Board members and management are serving the members best interests instead of their own. That is what can be accomplished by a tiny mosquito when it acts as if it is being driven into flight by the words of Edward Abbey when he said, "If you don't keep things stirred up, scum rises to the top." And that is why co-op elections matter.
