Energy Biz - March/April 2008 - (Page 44) lEadERShIP ROUNdTaBlES MarshaLL We would love to have 30, 40, 50 megawatts of wind power. A lot of us would like to see that get to grid, as long as it doesn’t disrupt our ability to get our own power to load. But the problem is the math of planners versus the realities of electrical engineering. There’s not a lot of connect the dots truly that’s occurring out there in Middle America. So it’s a transmission issue? It’s a transmission issue and it’s a reality issue. We’d be delighted to get the system upgraded and beef up our system. But someone’s got to pay us too. BE avErs What really outweighs economics is people. People don’t want a wind generator in their backyard. They don’t want a transmission pole in their backyard. And we’re seeing more political heat come from the public over transmission than over coal plant construction. BrighaM All of a sudden, the crunch is becoming very real to all of us. Some of our new industries coming in from other parts of the country are interested in solar panels and things like that. We’re accommodating and partnering with them to help them get those things accomplished. We have hog farmers who are interested in selling back electricity but we haven’t had regulations adjusted. But it’s just right on the tip of happening. The TVA will be willing to buy back through us some of that power some of our rural farmers can generate. ENERGYBIZ MarshaLL ENERGYBIZ What kind of challenges do you face regarding customers’ ability to pay for new investments in transmission, generation and renewables? BrighaM The challenges are about to hit. It has not been very difficult to this point, but we anticipate significant increases this year as TVA is expanding its generation. A lot of poor counties have older residents on fixed incomes and it will create some difficulties. ENERGYBIZ How do your rates compare with those charged by investor-owned utilities? MarshaLL Our rates were higher during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Now, we’re close to tied, which for us we consider quite an accomplishment. BE avErs In Texas, mainly because of density issues, coopera- waDe Hensel tives’ wires costs are higher. It still costs more to serve in the rural areas. It will continue to be true. WhiTEsiDE We do an outstanding job in maintaining our rate structures and delivering the cost as efficiently as we possibly can. But we’re always going to be at a disadvantage just because of our consumer base. ENERGYBIZ The investor-owned utilities have gone through a period of mergers. There are 900 members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Should cooperatives consolidate? BrighaM That’s a loaded question. Common sense would dictate that probably some consolidations would be in order. But our members are very loyal to the people who first brought power to them. They’re very loyal to their cooperative. MarshaLL We want to grow enough to achieve economies of scale. But it’s not by merging with another cooperative 200 miles north of us. In California, we went through the great deregulation crisis. Our members were hugging me in public because we gave a 5 percent refund in 2000. We taught our membership the difference between being inside Pacific Gas & Electric or Edison International and being part of our co-op, because when it went very ugly, they were protected. BE avErs A co-op’s a co-op. Changing the name doesn’t affect anything. As long as you maintain the values that make you a co-op, consolidation is worthwhile. But it won’t work unless there’s a commitment of the board and the management to make it work because there’ll be some natural resistance. hEnsEL Well, I’ve been through a merger, a consolidation and now I’m a shared manager between two cooperatives. Co-ops and rural electrics are smart enough to do what works for them. In our case now, we share the manager, we share engineering services and we share newsletter and communication services. ENERGYBIZ Is it hard to get qualified power industry employees in rural America? BE avErs We’ve been able to recruit some outstanding individuals. Of course, we’re at an advantage, right outside of Fort Worth. The more rural you are, the tougher it’s going to be in some cases. BrighaM We have not to date had any problems at all. We are in close proximity to Mississippi State University, which has a very strong engineering school. We’ve been very successful in recruiting engineers. When we have a lineman position open, we’ll interview 13, 15 people who have already been screened by the local employment service. But another challenge is that today’s young employee is not the same person that was hired 50 years ago. They look at life differently. raY beaVers 44 E n E rgyB i z March/April 2008
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