Nearly 1,000 people of all ages attended the 70th Annual Meeting of Farmers’ Electric Cooperative Tuesday night, June 10, at the Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center in Chillicothe.
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The member-owners of Farmers’ Electric re-elected three members to the cooperative’s board of directors, heard reports on the cooperative’s activities in the previous year, as well as information pertaining to the recently failed Norborne power plant project and several new programs that are being initiated locally, regionally and nationally.
Re-elected by acclamation to the cooperative’s board of directors were LeRoy Kern, representing Caldwell and Clinton counties; Arzy (Butch) Bisbee, representing Ray County; and W.D. Richards III, representing Chariton County.
"I was extremely disappointed, and so was your board of directors, in the decision to cancel the Norborne power plant project," said FEC Board President Ron Cornett. "There were a number of people in this area that worked very hard on that project and it was a power plant that will be needed for its base load generating capacity in the near future."
Continuing a theme that Farmer’s Electric members have been hearing since the 2004 annual meeting of the cooperative, Cornett noted the board was doing everything it could to hold rate increases to a minimum, but rates would continue to increase.
Farmers’ Electric CEO Mike Sanders focused his remarks on FEC’s new Operation Round Up program, Take Control & Save, a new energy efficiency program and the "Our Energy, Our Future," campaign which is currently underway nationwide.
Sanders explained the new Operation Round up program is one in which members of the cooperative could round up their monthly bill and the money earned from the program would be used to help pay medical bills for children in the cooperative’s nine-county area.
"For example," said Sanders. "If your bill was $71.50, and you participated in the Operation Round Up program, your bill would be "rounded up" to $72. The 50-cents would be contributed to the AYBF."
The average cost per year per member would be about $6. The most a member could contribute would be $11.88 a year, while the least amount a member could contribute would be just 12-cents.
"All of the round up funds would be transferred to our charity, the AYBF (Area Youth Benefit Fund) to help pay medical bills for children in the area," said Sanders.
Sanders said the new Take Control & Save program, which is being promoted in Missouri, southern Iowa, and northeastern Oklahoma by FEC’s power provider Associated Electric Cooperative, is designed to save electric cooperative members money on their monthly bills, while at the same time delaying construction on new power plants for as long as possible. Take Control & Save promotes the use of Energy Star appliances, the latest in energy efficiency lighting and insulative materials to make your home or business more energy efficient. The program also focuses on changing an individual’s energy lifestyle through the wise use of electricity.
Sanders explained to the members what they could do to save energy and the importance of not using appliances during the peak hours of the day on the hottest and coldest days of the year, because their use impacted their electric rate.
As members entered the Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center they were handed three letters by cooperative employees. The letters were addressed Representative Sam Graves, Senator Kit bond and Senator Claire McCaskill. Sanders explained to the members in attendance the letters were part of the "Our Energy, Our Future" campaign initiated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, in Washington, D.C.
Sanders said the campaign was designed to make congressional members aware of the expenses involved and what it was going to cost individuals and businesses if existing proposed legislation is passed, while at the same time asking the members of Congress what they were doing to fund research to bring about affordable energy to everyone.
"We will take your signed letters to our statewide organization in Jefferson City and they, in turn, will take these letters to the NRECA in Washington, D.C.," Sanders said. "The people at our national organization will then hand deliver these letters to our senators and congressman."
"If these pieces of legislation are passed through Congress during this election year it will have a dramatic impact on everyone’s electric bill," said Sanders.
Guests Speaker Don McQuitty, CEO of N.W. Electric Power Co-operative, Cameron, focused his presentation on the Norborne Power Plant project and briefly touched on the "Our Energy,
Our Future" campaign, too. McQuitty took the members through a step-by-step process of why the decision was made not to build the plant. The two biggest concerns, according to McQuitty, were the significant increases in the construction expense of the facility, from $800 million to $2billion dollars, and the potential for congressional legislation that would penalize utilities manufacturing electricity with coal.
FEC attorney Dana Macoubrie conducted the election of the three board members as well as the election of the 2009 Committee on Nominations. Elected to the Committee on Nominations were Kenneth Lee, Dennis Farmer, James Waters, April Williams, Charlotte Miller, Judy Holcer and Dennis Widhalm.
At the conclusion of the annual meeting over 70 prizes were given away. Paul and Roberta Jones, Chillicothe, won the grand prize, which was their choice of a big screen television, a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer, a double oven or a front loading washer-dryer. A total of 538 members registered at the meeting.
Next year’s annual meeting will be held June 9.