The team from Graham County Electric Cooperative (GCEC) visits legislators to discuss issues and the importance of electric co-op services to rural communities.
When state Rep. Patricia Contreras (D-LD12) went to her office at the Arizona State Capitol recently, she knew very little about the state’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives.
By the end of the day, she knew a lot about them, thanks to a team of board members and other officials from Graham County Electric Cooperative and other co-ops from around the state who visited dozens of lawmakers on January 23.
She liked what she learned.
“I think (the not-for-profit co-op utility) business model is great, It’s important that you’re a part of the community, you don’t want to see your rates go up, and of course you’re invested in the community and you can weigh the needs (of the co-op) with the needs of the community, weigh the needs as far as what your neighbors can afford,” Contreras said.
“And, knowing how many people you’re servicing, how many miles of line you have, how many (Member-consumers), it’s very important in case things come up where you might need something” from lawmakers, Contreras said.
Phil Cook, GCEC CEO and general manager, said Contreras’ learning experience is why it’s critical for officials from GCEC and other co-ops to visit with state lawmakers at least once a year, at the start of the annual legislative session.
“We need to remind the legislators that we have real issues; they don’t all know where we live or what we do so this gives us a chance to bring up our concerns and point out some obvious things, most issues they decide on can affect us in the rural areas,” Cook said.
“Approximately 87% of the state’s population is in metro areas and has no idea of what our issues are in rural Arizona.”
“Our legislators can make decisions, for example, on increasing the number of solar farms while reducing or eliminating coal or natural gas; these new solar farms are not going to be in the middle of the metro areas so what’s the alternative? Rural areas, so their decisions could limit some of our ability to get things done to distribute power or even generate power,” Cook said.
The state’s electric cooperatives visited lawmakers during the annual winter meeting and legislative conference organized and hosted by the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (GCSECA). GCEC is a member of the statewide association.
Jeff Larson, GCEC member, said he told legislators the co-op’s Members he talks to are most concerned about the co-op’s ability to provide reliable and affordable power and how the “rush to renewables” might impact its ability to do that.
“The availability of power; affordable and reliable energy, that’s what everybody’s concerned about,” said Larson.
“I’m all for renewables but it has to be when the market allows it, not when it’s being forced on us.”
“Our members are concerned about the cost of living associated with the power they need and what they must pay for it. That directly impacts them because it’s something they can’t do without and in rural areas, a family’s income relies on what it does to their farm, their ranch, their small business, and they don’t have the luxury of a financial cushion,” Larson said.
GCEC attorney Grant Walker echoed Larson’s comments – and added some other perspectives, as he also visited legislators.
“Obviously there’s great concern about climate change and advocates of so-called “green energy” say that all the traditional sources of electric power – coal, gas, and even hydro (power) are somehow detrimental to the environment,” Walker said.
“Yet they don’t have any good solutions and here’s why; the concepts for all this green energy are pushing too fast, and the government is moving too fast, trying to move all sources of energy production to renewable resources, thinking that somehow that is going to affect climate change, when it’s not,” Walker said.
“People concerned about renewable energy and climate are saying ‘do something,’ even if it’s wrong, but this is a much more complex issue where the planning and the timing need to be carefully thought out, and moving to renewables needs to be done with more and better planning, because the impact of ‘doing something,’ even if it’s wrong, can be worse than doing nothing at all,” said Grant.
State Rep. Contreras summed up the value of her meeting with the co-op team this way:
“I grew up in a rural area (Yuma) and I really like to know what’s going on and to understand what some of the needs are out in the rural communities and with the co-ops.
“Now, thanks to their visit, I do,” said Contreras.